Best Peter Kafka Podcasts (2025)

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Why the Algorithm is Making Comedy Boom, Again 58:53

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22h ago58:53

58:53

The last time I talked to Jesse David Fox about the comedy boom it was… March 5, 2020. Since then, some things have changed. But in other ways it’s just the same: comedy - or at least, some kinds of comedy - seems almost custom-built for our current technological and cultural moment, and it’s easier than ever to get this stuff on your devices whene…

1
Pablo Torre on ESPN, investigating LeBron, and becoming the New York Times' first 'creator' 1:03:36

1h ago1:03:36

1:03:36

Pablo Torre was one of ESPN’s rising stars — a fixture on shows like PTI and Around the Horn. But now he’s building something outside the machine. This week, Ben and Max bring on the host of Pablo Torre Finds Out to talk about leaving ESPN, launching his own show with Dan Le Batard’s Meadowlark Media, and how it recently became part of The Athletic…

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Episode #233 ... A philosophy of self-destruction. (Dostoevsky, Bataille) 33:57

3d ago33:57

33:57

Today we talk about two different theories for why we ritualize self-destructive behavior. We check out a lesser-known work from Dostoevsky called The Gambler. We consider how much we can hold people morally accountable for this kind of stuff. Then we look at the work of Georges Bataille, his book The Accursed Share, and how a hidden underlying eco…

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Ep 714 - Jaws, by Peter Benchley 1:23:26

3d ago1:23:26

1:23:26

The first blockbuster movie started with a blockbuster book about a fish busting up blocks in a small seaside town. Anyone familiar with Steven Spielberg's movie will recognize the basic plot of Benchley's original novel Jaws -- there's just a lot more chum in the water. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice …

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Emily Maitlis on Epstein, Prince Andrew, and why American journalists can’t do interviews 52:25

6d ago52:25

52:25

Emily Maitlis got one of the biggest scoops in the Epstein story when she interviewed Prince Andrew about his involvement in 2019. She was then a longtime presenter for the BBC, but has since moved onto hosting one of the UK’s top podcasts, The News Agents. This week, Ben and Max bring on the British broadcaster turned podcaster about how she think…

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What is TV’s endgame? 47:28

8d ago47:28

47:28

A decade ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger freaked out the media industry by acknowledging something many of us saw coming — his previously unassailable TV business was starting to erode. But even with a 10-year warning, today’s moguls seem unable to cope with 2025’s reality: The pay TV business is permanently eroding, and there’s nothing in its place that’…

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Ep 713 - Bonjour Tristesse, by Françoise Sagan 53:42

10d ago53:42

53:42

You know how sometimes you just want to bro out with your cool hot dad? How sometimes you just need to concoct a scheme where you encourage your casual boyfriend and your dad's casual ex-girlfriend to pretend to be in a relationship together, so that your dad gets jealous, so that he leaves his current more-serious girlfriend, who is really harshin…

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Scott Galloway on money, marketing, and masculinity 44:01

13d ago44:01

44:01

Scott Galloway has become ubiquitous in the new media world – he hosts 6 podcasts and counting – and he’s emerged as a voice for an underserved audience of young men on the left. This week, Ben and Max talk to the Pivot co-host about how he turned a career in marketing into a new kind of media stardom, how much money his podcasts make him, and why …

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Why Trump is defunding NPR and PBS - and suing Rupert Murdoch 35:59

16d ago35:59

35:59

Reporting on the place you work is not fun. But it is an occupational hazard for media reporters — particularly for NPR’s David Folkenflik. That’s because National Public Radio — along with Public Broadcasting Service, its TV counterpart — is quite frequently the target of attacks from critics on the right, who would like the federal government to …

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Ep 712 - The Trial, by Franz Kafka 1:16:09

17d ago1:16:09

1:16:09

He is Franz Kafka! Franz Kafka! He wrote The Trial. It’s a book about byzantine bureaucracy bearing down on lil old Josef K. Less of it takes place in a courtroom than you’d think. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain. Our theme music was composed by Nick Leran…

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Director Ari Aster on ‘the movie that Twitter wrote’ 45:43

20d ago45:43

45:43

Ari Aster, the filmmaker behind Hereditary and Midsommar, is out with a new movie today called Eddington. The new film is a modern Western placed in the height of lockdown during the 2020 pandemic, where the real villain is digital media. This week, Ben and Max bring on the writer and director to talk about why he decided to make a film set during …

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Sit Me Baby One More Time Ep 01 - Kristy's Great Idea (The Baby-Sitters Club #1) 58:28

20d ago58:28

58:28

We have convened a club whose charter is to learn about The Baby-Sitters Club. Join us as we met the Club's founding members and learn about Kristy's mortal enemy: her mom's new boyfriend. These episodes posted first for our Patreon supporters! If you want to hear the rest of them ahead of time (and a bunch of other stuff besides), visit Patreon.co…

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Inside the Rise and Fall of Condé Nast with Michael Grynbaum 47:38

22d ago47:38

47:38

Here's one way New York Times reporter Michael Grynbaum described Condé Nast to me in this week’s chat: “A real exporter of American cultural influence in the late 20th century.” And here’s another one: "A kind of enchanted land” but also a “lost world." And here’s one way I’d describe it: it’s hard to imagine in 2025, but just a few decades ago, m…

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Ep 711 - Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey 1:05:03

24d ago1:05:03

1:05:03

Gay anti-fascist librarians roam a speculative future version of the western United States in this week's novella. It's pretty close to as cool as it sounds, though the book will probably leave you wanting more in the end. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your …

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L'Orco della Foresta 🎧 Audiolibro Fiabesco per Bambini | Voce Narrante in Italiano 5:23

25d ago5:23

5:23

Ascolta L’Orco della Foresta, un audiolibro fiabesco raccontato con voce calda, perfetto per bambini e famiglie. Una storia tradizionale italiana che unisce coraggio, astuzia e magia in una narrazione coinvolgente e suggestiva.Una madre anziana, tre figli molto diversi tra loro e un orco spaventoso nascosto nella foresta: chi riuscirà ad affrontare…

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Why YouTube’s favorite doctor won’t stop talking about politics 44:55

27d ago44:55

44:55

Doctor Mike is a leading medical voice in digital media, with over 14 million subscribers on YouTube. This week, Ben and Max talk to YouTube’s favorite doctor about the role of medical experts online, why he thinks legacy media has failed to communicate medical information, and why he’s not afraid to be overtly political by calling out RFK Jr. and …

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The Sillymarillion Episode 0 - J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, an Introduction 56:34

28d ago56:34

56:34

For this new show-within-a-show, Craig and Andrew will be learning about the world of Middle-Earth! We're going to read J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumously published legendarium THE SILMARILLION. In this episode, you'll hear us discuss the creation of this epic fantasy, including the work done Christopher Tolkien to wrestle his father's work into a form …

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Inside the NYT - and Everywhere Else - with Semafor's Max Tani 48:09

30d ago48:09

48:09

You’re probably a normal person, so you didn’t spend your holiday weekend talking to people at the New York Times about a local politics story that some people didn’t like. But that’s Max Tani’s job: He’s Semafor’s media reporter, which means he’s supposed to burrow into the paper of record — as well as other important media institutions — and tell…

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Episode #232 ... Byung Chul Han - The Crisis of Narration 32:25

1M ago32:25

32:25

Today we talk about the book The Crisis of Narration by the philosopher Byung Chul Han. We talk about the history of storytelling. Walter Benjamins distinction between a Paris fire and a revolution in Madrid. The effects of social media on memory. Story telling vs story selling. AI as pure Intelligenz lacking Geist. The ability for stories to give …

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Ep 710 - A Boy's Own Story, by Edmund White 1:11:05

1M ago1:11:05

1:11:05

The late Edmund White’s breakthrough 1982 novel is the first in a trilogy of autobiographical novels that depict key eras in his life as a gay man. A Boy’s Own Story is, as you might expect, about a boy - a boy whose longing for the men in his life leads to powerful (though perhaps not entirely positive) self-understanding. This episode is sponsore…

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The secret to Zohran Mamdani’s winning media strategy is simpler than you think 47:17

1M ago47:17

47:17

Zohran Mamdani, until recently a little-known lawmaker, surprised New Yorkers by winning the Democratic primary for mayor last week. He broke out through vertical video on social media in ways that few political candidates have been able to pull off. This week, Ben and Max talk to the candidate’s media team, Rebecca Katz, founder of the political a…

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Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker on the problem with tech - and people 43:47

1M ago43:47

43:47

"Black Mirror" creator Charlie Brooker knows that everyone thinks his show is about tech-fueled dystopias. But he says it's really about humans, not their tools. I loved this chat back when we recorded it in 2023, when Brooker was promoting the sixth season of his Netflix show. Now there's a new season - and Brooker's vision of the world is as rele…

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Ep 709 - The Complete Peanuts, by Charles Schulz 1:24:10

1M ago1:24:10

1:24:10

Good grief! It's time to talk about Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy - the whole gang. To give ourselves a solid cross-section of Charles Schulz's work on Peanuts, we read Volume 1 (1950-52) and Volume 10 (1969-70) of the Complete Peanuts collection. So we're able to track the evolution of Charlie Brown's pumpkin noggin, as well as Snoopy's abili…

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Episode #231 ... The Late Work of Wittgenstein - Language Games 28:37

1M ago28:37

28:37

Today we talk about the late work of Wittgenstein in Philosophical Investigations. We talk about the meaning of words. Augustine's theory. Forms of life. Rules and practices. Grammar. Geometry. Family resemblance. And the role of a philosopher on the other side of accepting this view of language. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.Z…

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Steve Inskeep on NPR cuts, Iran, and radio’s place in the podcast era 43:22

1M ago43:22

43:22

Steve Inskeep has one of the most recognizable names and voices in the country, greeting millions of Americans every morning since the 2000s. This week, Ben and Max bring on the Morning Edition host to talk about NPR’s battle with the Trump administration, the role of public radio in an overcrowded media landscape, and why local journalism matters …

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How to become a Substack Star with Emily Sundberg 47:07

1M ago47:07

47:07

What's the best way to describe what Emily Sundberg does? Substacker? Influencer? Journalist? Brand-builder? Let's go with "yes". And she does a much better job of describing herself in our conversation, where we talk about how she went from being a laid-off marketer at Meta to a one-woman business with a devoted following and a revenue line that’s…