Channels with Peter Kafka

When Recode’s Peter Kafka advises you not to write your book, WRITE THAT BOOK. That’s the lesson Mike Isaac learned: His book “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber” is now a Showtime series starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Not only that, Showtime announced that Mike’s next, yet-to-be-finished book about Facebook will be the basis of season 2. Peter talks to Mark about what it’s like to shift from the world of reporting to prestige TV drama. Then, host of LinkedIn’s “Hello Monday” podcast, Jessi Hempel, talks about the launch of LinkedIn’s new podcast network. Featuring: Mike Isaac (@MikeIsaac), Author and Tech Reporter at The New York Times Jessi Hempel (@jessiwrites) Senior Editor At Large at LinkedIn and host of Hello Monday Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 Feb 202250min

Make sure no one’s on your home phone while you use your dial-up modem to listen to this week’s show on your 1998 Bondi Blue iMac. Recode Media’s Peter Kafka talks to bestselling Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs author Chuck Klosterman about his new book: The Nineties: A Book.  But first, NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik walks us through Sarah Palin’s defamation suit against The New York Times, which was rejected by a jury and a judge this week. Featuring: David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik), NPR Media Correspondent Chuck Klosterman (@CKlosterman), Author of The Nineties: A Book Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

17 Feb 20221h 6min

This is (an update about what’s going on at) CNN. Dylan Byers of Puck News joins Recode’s Peter Kafka: They talk about the fallout from former CNN president Jeff Zucker’s resignation and the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger federal regulators approved yesterday. And then for something completely different, it’s the delightful Ben Schwartz! The affable Parks and Rec actor and improviser joins his new pal “PK” for a fun conversation. We talk about his new Apple TV+ show The Afterparty, working for Netflix, and how he became the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. But wait, there’s more: Schwartz also talks breaking into show business via the internet, watching someone steal his content and go viral, and doing punch-up for Star Wars director J.J. Abrams. Featuring: Dylan Byers (@DylanByers), Founding Partner and Senior Correspondent at Puck Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes), Actor, Writer, and Comedian Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

10 Feb 20221h 5min

First: Neil Young quit Spotify over Joe Rogan, but just a handful of musicians have followed him. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw assesses whether Spotify’s podcast problems are over, or just beginning.  Then, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to two journalists who left their jobs to start their own media organizations. Lauren Williams was Vox’s editor-in-chief — this week she co-launched Capital B, a nonprofit news site aimed at Black readers. Brian Morrissey was editor-in-chief at Digiday and is now running The Rebooting - a one-man operation aimed at a business audience. Both of them talk about business models, the risk and reward of building something from scratch, and what success looks like when you’re starting out on your own. Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), Reporter for Bloomberg Lauren Williams (@laurenwilliams), Co-Founder and CEO of Capital B Brian Morrissey (@bmorrissey), Founder of The Rebooting Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3 Feb 20221h 6min

Just in time for the NFL playoffs, sports betting is legal in New York. $600 million in bets were placed in the first week alone. Now that it’s legal in more than 30 states, Recode’s Peter Kafka dives into how the business works and how going legit might change the TV sports viewing experience. Getting in on the action: Action Network CEO Patrick Keane and Sports Illustrated’s Richard Johnson. Featuring: Patrick Keane (@phkeane), CEO of Action Network Richard Johnson (@RJ_Writes), writer for Sports Illustrated Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

27 Jan 202252min

It’s the biggest acquisition in Microsoft’s history: $68.7 billion to buy the video game company, Activision Blizzard.  First, Axios’ Chief Technology Correspondent, Ina Fried, tells us how Xbox fits into Microsoft’s overall business. She touches on how Activision Blizzard’s scandals impacted the deal, and whether Microsoft’s plan to buy the company that makes Overwatch will get past federal over watchers. For the gaming side, Peter talks to Chris Grant, SVP of Polygon and The Verge. He explains just how big the video game industry is, and takes us through the history of Activision, from the 1982 Atari hit Pitfall! to Call of Duty. Featuring: Chris Grant (@chrisgrant), SVP at Vox Media Ina Fried (@inafried), Chief Technology Correspondent at Axios Ina's newsletter, Axios Login: https://www.axios.com/signup/login Read Ina’s coverage of the deal: https://www.axios.com/microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-big-tech-regulation-aaf95937-7df1-4d4a-99c1-267b9a9d22f8.html  Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

20 Jan 202253min

What the hell is Web3, why did everyone start talking about it all at once, and are we going to still be talking about it in a few months? Jarrod Dicker, an investor at the Chernin Group, may know the answers to some of those questions, so he sat down to talk with Recode’s Peter Kafka. For years, Dicker has been in and around crypto — Web3 is really a rebranding of crypto — but he also knows the media business: Prior to Chernin, he was an executive at the Washington Post. He’s bullish on Web3 because that’s his job, but he’s also got a nuanced perspective on what this stuff does and doesn’t mean for lots of different businesses. Featuring: Jarrod Dicker (@jarroddicker), Partner at the Chernin Group Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

13 Jan 20221h 5min

CNN’s Oliver Darcy joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the way conservative media covers - and, importantly, doesn’t cover - the 1/6 riot and its aftermath. Then, NYT’s Erin Griffith reports back from the frontlines of the Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos trial, with tales of 3 AM wake-ups and keyboard mufflers. And she argues that Holmes’ story is Silicon Valley’s story, whether Silicon Valley likes it or not. Featuring: Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy), Senior Media reporter at CNN Erin Griffith (@eringriffith), Tech & VC reporter at The New York Times Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

6 Jan 202249min