Friction Matters: Resistance Is a Feature, Not a Bug

Friction Matters: Resistance Is a Feature, Not a Bug

Friction gets an bad rap, according Jennifer Vail. As a tribologist, she studies interacting surfaces in relative motion, and she’s worked on everything from aerospace materials to syringes to dog food. Her new book, Friction: A Biography, explores the science of rubbing surfaces, the history of lubrication, and why “frictionless” is a dangerous fantasy. Kara and Jennifer unpack everything from Roman chariot “pit stops” to ball bearings and how tiny tweaks in texture and lubricant chemistry can save massive amounts of energy. They end with a discussion of behavioral friction (the kind tech companies want to get rid of) and Kara makes the case for “good friction” in tech, work, and relationships. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(380)

Inside the ICE Detention Boom: Soaring Abuse Claims and Little Oversight

Inside the ICE Detention Boom: Soaring Abuse Claims and Little Oversight

While the Department of Homeland Security publicly claims to be resetting its tactics around immigration arrests, it's been building out its capacity to house detained migrants by buying up almost a d...

23 Mar 1h

A Silicon Valley Satire That Feels Uncomfortably Close to Reality

A Silicon Valley Satire That Feels Uncomfortably Close to Reality

"Raising money off frothy numbers to sugarcoat the rotten apple is what built this town.” That’s according to Duncan Park, the protagonist of "The Audacity," a new dark comedy from AMC about tech CEOs...

19 Mar 55min

Sen. Mark Warner On What Trump Is Risking With War in Iran

Sen. Mark Warner On What Trump Is Risking With War in Iran

As the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Gang of Eight, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is among the select few members of Congress who get to sit in on top intelligence ...

16 Mar 51min

Matt Belloni on WarnerMount, Disney Succession, Oscars & More

Matt Belloni on WarnerMount, Disney Succession, Oscars & More

Kara sits down with Matthew Belloni, author of the flagship Puck newsletter What I’m Hearing and host of The Town podcast, to take the entertainment industry’s temperature just a few days before the A...

12 Mar 1h 18min

Survivors Speak Out: Taking On the ‘Epstein Class’

Survivors Speak Out: Taking On the ‘Epstein Class’

It’s been more than a month since the Justice Department released the latest tranche of files related to its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein — around 3 million in total — yet the fallout shows no sig...

9 Mar 1h 13min

Gavin Newsom on His Memoir, Trump, and Plans for 2028

Gavin Newsom on His Memoir, Trump, and Plans for 2028

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the current front runner on the list of Democrats eyeing a 2028 White House run. While he hasn’t made his presidential ambitions official, he has a new memoir out, call...

2 Mar 1h 13min

Why ‘Playing It Safe’ In Your Career Doesn’t Pay with VC Bill Gurley

Why ‘Playing It Safe’ In Your Career Doesn’t Pay with VC Bill Gurley

Bill Gurley, accomplished venture capitalist, longtime Silicon Valley “worrywart,” and early Uber backer, joins Kara Swisher to discuss how to build a career you love and the tech industry’s sharp tur...

26 Feb 1h 3min

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