Best Peter Kafka Podcasts (2025)

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Inside the Rise and Fall of Condé Nast with Michael Grynbaum 51:38

Play Pause

5d ago51:38

51:38

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

3d 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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L'Orco della Foresta 🎧 Audiolibro Fiabesco per Bambini | Voce Narrante in Italiano 5:23

8d 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

11d 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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Inside the NYT - and Everywhere Else - with Semafor's Max Tani 52:09

13d ago52:09

52:09

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

14d 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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The secret to Zohran Mamdani’s winning media strategy is simpler than you think 47:17

18d 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 45:47

20d ago45:47

45:47

"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…

1901
Episode #231 ... The Late Work of Wittgenstein - Language Games 28:37

23d 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

24d 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 51:07

28d ago51:07

51:07

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…

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Is journalism bad for The New York Times’ business? with CEO Meredith Kopit Levien 43:53

1M ago43:53

43:53

The New York Times has weathered incredible changes in the media industry throughout its 174 years – and it’s managed to stay on top through the recent shift to digital, topping podcast charts and becoming a daily app for games and cooking. This week, live from the Cannes Lions festival, Ben and Max are joined by CEO Meredith Kopit Levien to talk a…

1
Why did Apple ice out the most famous Apple blogger? 1:08:48

1M ago1:08:48

1:08:48

If you want smart, nuanced insight into Apple’s products and would-be products, you turn to John Gruber, who’s been blogging about this stuff for more than two decades at his Daring Fireball site. So in March, when Gruber announced that Something is Rotten in the State of Cupertino — focusing on Apple’s botched plans to imbue its ailing Siri servic…

3101
Episode #230 ... Hope as an Existentialism (Ernst Bloch) 29:44

1M ago29:44

29:44

Today we talk about the early work of Ernst Bloch. Hope as anticipatory consciousness. The darkness of the lived moment. Educated hope vs false hope. Music as an experiential metaphysics and gateway to the Not-Yet. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so mu…

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Professional optimist Cleo Abram on tech’s bright future 45:24

1M ago45:24

45:24

Cleo Abram left Vox and started her YouTube show, Huge If True, 3 years ago. Since then, the channel has grown to nearly 6 million subscribers and she’s become one of the most important tech journalists in the world. This week, Ben and Max talk to Cleo about why she started an optimistic show in an age of pessimism, the time she got space-sick in z…

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On the hunt for media optimism, with Semafor’s Ben Smith and The Rebooting’s Brian Morrissey 30:22

1M ago30:22

30:22

Here’s one where we try to do two things at once: Have a convo about green shoots in media with two smart guys who know media really well — Semafor’s Ben Smith and The Rebooting’s Brian Morrissey. Try to find new audiences for our respective podcasts, by cutting up that conversation into 3 parts, and distributing those parts to our respective feeds…

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The Great Rebundling — With Peter Kafka and Brian Morrissey 27:51

1M ago27:51

27:51

The media industry has spent the last decade talking about its own decline — but where is it actually headed? This week on Mixed Signals, Ben kicks off a special three-part crossover with Peter Kafka of Channels and Brian Morrissey of The Rebooting. In part one of the conversation, the three discuss the future of media bundles, why everyone seems t…

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Scott Frank on Netflix, the future of Hollywood, and Dept. Q 47:42

1M ago47:42

47:42

Scott Frank used to write great movies, like “Out of Sight.” Now he’s a Netflix guy, and a super successful one: he made “Godless,” a horses-and-everything Western for the streamer, then had a pandemic-era phenomenon with “The Queen’s Gambit.” Now he’s back with “Dept. Q”, his take on the British mystery genre. You can find that one on Netflix’s to…

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Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons on how food ate media 38:18

2M ago38:18

38:18

Top Chef, which is airing its 22nd season finale next week, has been shaping how we think and talk about food for the past 2 decades. This week, Ben and Max talk to Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, longtime judges since the first season, about how the show influenced the restaurant industry, how food media has changed, and why the show has gotten ni…

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Bluesky Wasn’t Supposed to be a Twitter Rival. Now It Is. 38:01

2M ago38:01

38:01

I admit it: I most definitely rolled my eyes in 2019, when Twitter announced vague plans to build an "open and decentralized standard for social media". At the time I didn't really understand what then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was trying to do — or why the head of a social media company with plenty of problems was messing around with plans to create…

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Adam Friedland on comedy, TV, and whether he’s the Joe Rogan of the left 34:15

2M ago34:15

34:15

Adam Friedland represents a new kind of comedian—one who rose up through podcasting and now hosts a late night-style weekly interview show… on YouTube. This week, Ben and Max bring on the comedian to talk about why he’s reviving a 1960s Dick Cavett-style talk show for the Internet, if podcasts have become too dumb, and whether he’s the long anticip…

1
How to Reinvent a Magazine, with Wired’s Katie Drummond 51:58

2M ago51:58

51:58

Today we’re talking about how you take a media property that’s been around for a long time, and find a way to bring in new eyeballs — and new revenue. That property is Wired — the place that told you about the internet before the internet even existed — and the person who’s reviving it is Katie Drummond, who has been running the property for a coup…

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Episode #229 - Kafka and Totalitarianism (Arendt, Adorno) 31:23

2M ago31:23

31:23

Today we talk about Kafka's book The Castle and how the symbolism is interpreted by two powerhouse philosophers: Theodore Adorno and Hannah Arendt. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Incogni: https://www.Incogni.com/philothis Quince: https://www.QUINCE.com/pt ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this with…

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Christiane Amanpour and Jamie Rubin on explaining the world — and podcasting with your ex 39:48

2M ago39:48

39:48

Christiane Amanpour has been on the front lines of global media since the 80s, while her ex-husband, Jamie Rubin, held top State Department jobs in the Clinton and Biden administrations. Now, with Jamie freshly out of the White House, they’ve come back together to make a podcast. This week, Ben and Max bring on the divorced couple to talk about why…

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Meta's Adam Mosseri explains how Instagram really works - and how he wants to build Threads 1:02:46

2M ago1:02:46

1:02:46

Adam Mosseri's official title is head of Instagram, Meta's massive photo and video app. He also runs Threads, the Twitter clone the company launched two years ago. Unofficially, he's become one of Meta's chief explainers, frequently jumping on social media to defend and proselytize on behalf of his employer. So when I got a chance to interview Moss…

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'Substack isn’t cool,' gatekeepers are, and other strong opinions from tastemaker Chris Black 54:03

2M ago54:03

54:03

Chris Black has gone from managing a pop-punk band to becoming a fashion-world insider, podcast host, and brand consultant for labels like J. Crew and Thom Browne. This week, Ben and Max bring on the How Long Gone co-host to talk about building a cult hit podcast, the surprising comeback of media gatekeepers in 2025, and why he still believes in th…

Peter Kafka Podcasts

1
Channels with Peter Kafka

Vox Media Podcast Network

1
Recode Replay

Recode

1
Mixed Signals from Semafor Media

Semafor Podcasts

1
Philosophize This!

Stephen West

1
Libri In Ascolto

Cristian Brusco

1
High and Low Podcast

Rialda and Alan Shulman

1
Inside the Rise and Fall of Condé Nast with Michael Grynbaum 51:38

1
Director Ari Aster on ‘the movie that Twitter wrote’ 45:43

1
L'Orco della Foresta 🎧 Audiolibro Fiabesco per Bambini | Voce Narrante in Italiano 5:23

1
Why YouTube’s favorite doctor won’t stop talking about politics 44:55

1
Inside the NYT - and Everywhere Else - with Semafor's Max Tani 52:09

1151
Episode #232 ... Byung Chul Han - The Crisis of Narration 32:25

1
The secret to Zohran Mamdani’s winning media strategy is simpler than you think 47:17

1
Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker on the problem with tech - and people 45:47

1901
Episode #231 ... The Late Work of Wittgenstein - Language Games 28:37

1
Steve Inskeep on NPR cuts, Iran, and radio’s place in the podcast era 43:22

1
How to become a Substack Star with Emily Sundberg 51:07

1
Is journalism bad for The New York Times’ business? with CEO Meredith Kopit Levien 43:53

1
Why did Apple ice out the most famous Apple blogger? 1:08:48

3101
Episode #230 ... Hope as an Existentialism (Ernst Bloch) 29:44

1
Professional optimist Cleo Abram on tech’s bright future 45:24

1
On the hunt for media optimism, with Semafor’s Ben Smith and The Rebooting’s Brian Morrissey 30:22

1
The Great Rebundling — With Peter Kafka and Brian Morrissey 27:51

1
Scott Frank on Netflix, the future of Hollywood, and Dept. Q 47:42

1
Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons on how food ate media 38:18

1
Bluesky Wasn’t Supposed to be a Twitter Rival. Now It Is. 38:01

1
Adam Friedland on comedy, TV, and whether he’s the Joe Rogan of the left 34:15

1
How to Reinvent a Magazine, with Wired’s Katie Drummond 51:58

1
Episode #229 - Kafka and Totalitarianism (Arendt, Adorno) 31:23

1
Christiane Amanpour and Jamie Rubin on explaining the world — and podcasting with your ex 39:48

1
Meta's Adam Mosseri explains how Instagram really works - and how he wants to build Threads 1:02:46

1
'Substack isn’t cool,' gatekeepers are, and other strong opinions from tastemaker Chris Black 54:03