To make sense of a turbulent and important week in media, we turn to Ben Smith who was the founding Editor in Chief of Buzzfeed News (2012 to 2020) and the former New York Times media critic (from 2020 to 2022). On the agenda: the shuttering of Buzzfeed News, the meaning of Murdoch's settlement with Dominion and what Ben is working on these days, including his news organization Semafor and his forthcoming book, Traffic. 

Since we taped Kara got her blue check (against her wishes!) when Twitter re-verified some accounts over the weekend.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com. And you can follow Kara and Nayeema on Instagram -- yes, Instagram: @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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We turn to economist and former Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers, to help us make sense of inflation, Silicon Valley Bank and what Biden should do next. Also on the agenda: why Summers believes in a politics and economics of opportunity — “not of envy.” Plus, why he thinks America needs more people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema

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After a quick rundown of how the 2024 presidential race may shape up, we turn to today’s guest: Jen Psaki, the former White House Press Secretary and host of the new MSNBC show, “Inside with Jen Psaki.” On the agenda: Biden’s Achilles’ heel, the Trump bump and how Psaki will parlay her insider status to journalism. 

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema

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Last week, Elon kicked off a feud with both Substack and his very own former Twitter Files ingénue (and Substack star), Matt Taibbi. Kara and Nayeema break down the battle of the bros before turning to an interview with those at the center of the storm: Substack co-founders Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie.

The two address questions about Substack Notes (which Elon dubbed, and they deny, is a “Twitter clone”), the challenging business model of newsletters and their stance on free expression. Somehow, they manage to avoid uttering the name “Elon.” Kara doesn’t shy away though. 

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema

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Today, after Kara and Nayeema discuss what the Dominion defamation lawsuit might mean for Rupert Murdoch and News Corp, we turn to a fictional media story of Logan Roy and HBO’s Succession. Our guests are Brian Cox, series creator Jesse Armstrong and director Mark Mylod. SPOILER ALERT: there are lots of spoilers in this episode, starting at about 10 mins in so go watch the show first. 

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema.

You can listen to other episodes of the Succession companion podcast here.

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WeightWatchers recently announced a $132 million deal to acquire telehealth company Sequence and enter the prescription drug space (think: GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic). It begs the question: why is a company built on personal accountability facilitating medical interventions? We ask our guest, WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani. Before and after the interview, Nayeema and Kara discuss their own experiences with diet fads and whether drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic will help America deal with the obesity epidemic or simply avoid tackling underlying issues like food supply, corporate greed and light regulation.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema 

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After a brief discussion about the impact of social media on the mental health of teenage girls, Kara and Nayeema turn to today’s guest: Brooke Shields. She became a teenage superstar through her roles in “Pretty Baby” and “Blue Lagoon” as well as the famous Calvin Klein ads (“Do you want to know what comes in between me and my Calvins? Nothing.”). In her new Hulu documentary, “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” she talks about how she sees those hypersexualized roles today and how she survived life in an industry that she says did nothing to help her. Shields also revisits her complex relationship with her mother, who introduced her to modeling and acting, and how Shields now counsels her own two teenage daughters about feeding the social media “monster.” 

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema

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As she pens her memoir, Kara’s been thinking about legacy, but on this episode we reflect on the legacy of another powerhouse reporter: Audie Cornish. After hosting NPR’s flagship “All Things Considered” for a decade, Audie Cornish took a risk and left for the greener pastures of CNN+ — only to see that venture get unceremoniously squashed by CNN’s new CEO less than a month after it launched. Yet Cornish has made it work: launching a new podcast, “The Assignment” and providing on-air analysis (slash occasionally taking the anchor chair) at CNN. In a conversation taped live at the On Air Fest, where Cornish was honored with the the 2023 Audio Vanguard Award, she talks about how she learned to ask for help as a young reporter covering Hurricane Katrina, what the media industry has to pay attention to in order to outgrow its early naivete and why the “chaos” at CNN is healthy. 

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema 

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After a quick discussion of last week’s TikTok testimony, Kara and Nayeema turn to today’s guest: Congresswoman Katie Porter. The California Democrat has gone viral for her whiteboard-wielding grilling of CEOs like Jamie Dimon and Mark Zuckerberg and her subtle art of not giving a f*ck during the recent marathon that was Kevin McCarthy’s speaker vote. But today, Kara’s the one doing the grilling (sans whiteboard). Taped live at Manny’s in San Francisco, the two talk about the aftershocks of Silicon Valley Bank as well as what was behind her very early announcement that she was running for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat. Stay tuned until the end to hear what Kara’s mom thinks about Katie Porter.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema 

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Lawrence Wright has produced some of the most seminal pieces of journalism on scientology, terrorism and – now – the Silicon Valley invasion of his hometown: Austin, Texas. Kara and Larry taped this interview in front of a live (outdoor) audience in Austin. They talk about recent transplants – from Elon Musk to Joe Rogan and Emma Stone – and the city’s transition from a quirky capital to a growing hub for tech companies and home to Hollywood stars and a breeding ground for libertarian ideas. And, most fundamentally, they talk about the idea of finding a place that feels like home.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema

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