Best Semafor Podcasts (2026)

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Ryan Lizza on Olivia Nuzzi, RFK Jr, and the Substack-ification of a scandal 54:56

Play Pause

5h ago54:56

54:56

Media veteran Ryan Lizza joins Mixed Signals for a raw, sprawling conversation about why he chose to publish an eight-part (and counting) Substack series responding to the most personal and public crisis of his career. Max and Ben press him on whether this was ever just a breakup story, why he believes the real scandal involves RFK Jr. and journali…

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The Dokoupil Debacle & Semafor’s $330M Question 1:11:22

14m ago1:11:22

1:11:22

Julia and Dylan survey a volatile week in media: Tony Dokoupil’s rocky debut at CBS Evening News and the broader questions it raises about Bari Weiss’s leadership, Semafor’s eyebrow-raising $330 million valuation, the flood of A.I.-generated content overtaking Instagram and X, and plenty more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy pract…

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xAI’s $20B Raise, Semafor’s $30M Round, America’s Tech Decline | Ravi Gupta & Pat Grady, Vincenzo Landino, Nigel Vaz, Ben Smith, Jacob Rintamaki 3:26:39

1d ago3:26:39

3:26:39

(00:32) - xAI's $20B Series E (13:36) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (25:34) - Semafor's $30M Funding (31:19) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (53:37) - The Decline of the American Technology Industry (01:10:07) - Boston Biotech Bubble Bursts (01:14:46) - OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health (01:27:36) - Vincenzo Landino, founder and managing director of Business of Speed…

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The Jamie Dimon Apple Card, Greenland Ideas, WB-Paramount, TBPN x Vanity Fair | Diet TBPN 29:22

17h ago29:22

29:22

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in under 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Ma…

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Dimon’s Take on Apple Card, Trump’s Greenland Play, VC Winter Deepens | Josh Wolfe, Delian Asparouhov, Arun Gupta, Julie Bush, Winston Weinberg, Yotam Segev 3:16:40

18h ago3:16:40

3:16:40

By John Coogan & Jordi Hays

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The biggest geopolitical risks of 2026 revealed 1:01:54

22h ago1:01:54

1:01:54

With the global order under increasing strain, 2026 is shaping up to be a tipping point for geopolitics. From political upheaval in the United States to widening conflicts abroad, the risks facing governments, markets, and societies are converging faster—and more forcefully—than at any time in recent memory. To break it all down, journalist Julia C…

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xAI Raises $20B, Anthropic’s $350B Valuation, OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health | Diet TBPN 29:36

1d ago29:36

29:36

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in under 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Ma…

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Inside Bari Weiss’s Rise: LA, Sun Valley, and the Mogul Network 40:04

2d ago40:04

40:04

How, exactly, did Bari Weiss become the head of CBS News? We know that David Ellison, who bought Paramount last year, hired her — and bought The Free Press, the publication she started a few years earlier. But how did she get on Ellison’s radar? And why are so many media moguls, like Ellison, huge fans? New York magazine’s Charlotte Klein knows. Sh…

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The legacy and future of CES, Dwarkesh’s “Capital in the 22nd Century,” Ben Thompson’s “AI and the Human Condition” | Diet TBPN 28:08

3d ago28:08

28:08

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in under 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Ma…

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The Death of the Tech Conference, Jake Paul Joins, Dimon Launches Deregulation Blitz | Jake Paul & Geoffrey Woo, Matt Pavelle, David Senra & Lulu Cheng, Casey Newton, Alex Epstein, Jamie Siminoff 3:49:09

3d ago3:49:09

3:49:09

(02:19) - The Death of the Tech Conference (23:27) - Dimon Launches Deregulation Blitz (27:49) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (01:16:29) - Casey Newton, an American technology journalist and founder of the Platformer newsletter, discusses his investigation into a viral Reddit post alleging unethical practices by food delivery companies, which was later rev…

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Hollywood’s Future ’26 War Stories 54:04

1h ago54:04

54:04

Matt Belloni joins Dylan and Julia to chart the latest updates surrounding the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war between Netflix and Paramount—and what each side stands to gain or lose. Then they dive into Hollywood’s accelerating A.I. anxiety in light of Disney’s pact with Sora 2, the upcoming film slate for 2026, YouTube's rights deal with the O…

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Dan Wang's Annual Letter, Meta Acquires Manus, Nvidia's $20B Groq Deal | Diet TBPN 35:37

4d ago35:37

35:37

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in under 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Ma…

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Dan Wang's Annual Letter, Meta Acquires Manus, Nvidia's $20B Groq Deal | Justin Mares 2:57:34

4d ago2:57:34

2:57:34

(02:25) - Dan Wang's Annual Letter (43:08) - Meta Acquires Manus (59:33) - Nvidia's $20B Groq Deal (01:10:48) - Doordash Responds to Reddit Firestorm (01:43:53) - California Wealth Tax Targets Billionaires (02:00:54) - Scott Belsky's 12 Outlooks for the Future (02:27:20) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (02:32:31) - Justin Mares, co-founder and CEO of Trueme…

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CNN Sale Chatter, Meta TV & Other 2026 Predictions 51:48

7d ago51:48

51:48

Dylan and Julia forecast the media chaos to come, mapping out the storylines likely to dominate the year ahead—from the ongoing Warner Bros. Discovery drama to Disney’s Sora experiment, Instagram Reels invading connected TV, and the likely disruption of the ad market. They also predict CNN’s uncertain future, the waning influencer economy, the A.I.…

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Kevin O’Leary on playing the villain and turning attention into power 44:41

7d ago44:41

44:41

Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary joins Mixed Signals to talk about his buzzy turn as a ruthless tycoon in Marty Supreme — and how it felt playing a fictionalized version of himself. Max and Ben dig into what lessons he took from working with Josh Safdie and Timothee Chalamet, why Mark Cuban isn’t on Shark Tank anymore, and why he believes movie theaters …

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Craig Finn on Friendship, Fans and The Hold Steady’s Second Life 48:49

9d ago48:49

48:49

Craig Finn makes music — as the head of the Hold Steady, and on his solo records — about grown-up lives and bad decisions. Back in 2017, we talked about his life as a working rock musician — and how touring actually works, how the band found a second life, and why fans and friendship matter more than old ideas of rock stardom. Learn more about your…

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TikTok Stars on the Politicians Begging Them for Exposure 38:26

10d ago38:26

38:26

What happens when TikTokers replace TV hosts and interviewers, and presidential candidates start begging to be on their shows? Brian Reed sits down in a Brooklyn wine shop with four of the internet’s biggest creators: Caleb Simpson, who gets people on the street to take him up to their apartments; Julian Shapiro-Barnum who interviews kids on Recess…

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Are the Kids… All Right? 1:16:05

7d ago1:16:05

1:16:05

Jim Steyer, the founder and C.E.O. of Common Sense Media, joins Dylan for a fascinating end-of-year conversation about which tech companies and social media platforms are getting it right (and wrong) when it comes to child safety. They also chat about his legendary class at Stanford and forthcoming podcast, his brother Tom’s gubernatorial bid in Ca…

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What actually mattered in 2025, with Janice Min and Emily Sundberg 35:06

14d ago35:06

35:06

The Ankler’s Janice Min and FeedMe founder Emily Sundberg join Mixed Signals for a candid roundtable lookback at a disorienting year in media. They sound off on everything from YouTube’s domination, to the Charlie Kirk saga, and the increasingly niche areas of coverage for newsletters. Max and Ben also ask about Substack’s evolution, creator econom…

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Media’s ’25 Crisis of Nerve 51:45

11d ago51:45

51:45

Julia and Dylan reunite to survey the stories that defined media in 2025, starting with the recent uproar over Bari Weiss pulling a ’60 Minutes’ segment critical of the Trump administration. Then they dig into the impact of David Ellison’s bid for Warner Bros., Trump’s omnipresent influence on the media ecosystem, the mounting pressures on legacy o…

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Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt’s Second Act: Less Budget, More Control 54:48

16d ago54:48

54:48

PJ Vogt helped invent modern narrative podcasting with “Reply All.” Now he’s running “Search Engine” with a much smaller team and a lot more control. We talk through what he gave up this time around, what he gained, and how he actually makes the show each week. I loved this conversation when we recorded it earlier this year. And I think it’s just a…

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Katie Couric Goes Direct 1:11:13

14d ago1:11:13

1:11:13

The one and only Katie Couric joins Dylan for a wide-ranging look back—and forward—at her career, from her stints at the Today show, CBS, and Yahoo to building her own media empire. She digs into the collapse of monoculture, the rise of a creator-driven media landscape, why authenticity matters now more than ever, maintaining journalistic integrity…

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War and Peace in 2025, with Clarissa Ward and Comfort Ero 50:48

20d ago50:48

50:48

This week, instead of zooming in on a single conflict, the GZERO World Podcast looks back on 2025 and takes stock of a world increasingly defined by conflict. Ian Bremmer sits down with CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward and Comfort Ero, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group to look at some of the biggest crises of 20…

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TBPN Year in Review, TikTok Aims for $50B, Dana White on the AI Race | Diet TBPN 31:47

21d ago31:47

31:47

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in under 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Ma…

1
2025 in Review, Cursor Acquires Graphite, TikTok's $50B Profit | Michael Truell & Merrill Lutsky, Pranav Myana, Anna Goldie, Edward Mehr 2:21:00

21d ago2:21:00

2:21:00

(00:25) - 2025 in Review (17:34) - TikTok's $50B Profit (22:34) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (24:27) - Michael Truell & Merrill Lutsky, co-founder and CEO of Anysphere, leads the company behind Cursor, an AI-powered code editor that has rapidly gained prominence in the software development industry. In the conversation, Truell discusses the integration o…

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Instagram's Adam Mosseri on algorithms, AI slop, and how to beat TikTok 44:39

21d ago44:39

44:39

Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri joins Mixed Signals to talk about what Instagram actually is in 2025, and what it isn't. Max and Ben ask about the platform’s new move onto TV screens, the dominance of Reels and DMs, and whether “everything is becoming television.” Mosseri also explains how the company is competing with TikTok and YouTube, and whethe…

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Media’s Anxiety Index 39:59

18d ago39:59

39:59

Orchestra C.E.O. Jonathan Rosen and Jon Kelly join Dylan live from New York to walk through new survey data capturing the media industry’s state of mind. They dig into the rise of subscription-based models, the FAST explosion, the creeping influence of A.I., and much more. Plus, cameo insights from Semafor’s Ben Smith and Feed Me’s Emily Sundberg w…

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OpenAI Sets Sights on $750B Valuation, Warner Brothers Questions Paramount’s Funding, The 2025 Model Wars In Review | Diet TBPN 34:03

22d ago34:03

34:03

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in under 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Ma…

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$DJT Goes Nuclear, OpenAI in talks at $750B, 2025 Model Wars in Review | Brian Armstrong & Tarek Mansour, Simon Eskildsen 2:38:24

22d ago2:38:24

2:38:24

(00:30) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (05:02) - OpenAI in talks at $750B (08:56) - WB Board Questions Paramount's Funding Stability (23:03) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (55:03) - Brian Armstrong and Tarek Mansour are the co-founders of Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency platforms. Armstrong, a former Airbnb engineer, serves as CEO and has been …

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Amazon Bets $10B on OpenAI, Ford’s Reality Check, Paramount Deal Unravels | Diet TBPN 29:46

23d ago29:46

29:46

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in under 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Ma…

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Amazon x OpenAI, Ford's EV Reality Check, Kushner Drops WB Bid | Sarah Guo, David Senra, Doug O'Laughlin, Doug Bernauer, Jacob Effron, Logan Kilpatrick 3:18:44

23d ago3:18:44

3:18:44

(02:12) - Ford's EV Reality Check (21:03) - Amazon x OpenAI (33:13) - Kushner Drops WB Bid (39:53) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (57:33) - Sarah Guo is the founder and managing partner of Conviction, an early-stage venture firm focused on backing transformative software and AI companies. She’s known for combining deep technical fluency with a strong produ…

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"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What’s Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros. 41:56

23d ago41:56

41:56

The backstory here is that weeks ago, Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw agreed to join me for my 2025/2026 look back/look ahead episode. And then things got way more compelling, because Paramount and Netflix got into a truly unprecedented fight over the future of Warner Bros Discovery. So that’s what we’re talking about here, including: *Why this truly is a t…

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Do Companies Need Storytellers, Ford’s EV Flop, Kushner Paramount Pullout | Diet TBPN 29:26

24d ago29:26

29:26

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in under 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Ma…

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You Don't Need a Storyteller, ChatGPT Images, Ali on the Series L | Karri Saarinen, Mike Cessario, Elliot Cohen, Ali Ghodsi 3:23:58

24d ago3:23:58

3:23:58

(00:55) - Viral WSJ 'You Don't Need a Storyteller' Piece (28:52) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (34:03) - ChatGPT Images 1.5 (46:05) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (01:00:44) - Coreweave Tests AI Market Hype (01:11:40) - The Price of Ford's EV Push (01:19:58) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (01:30:32) - Karri Saarinen, co-founder and CEO of Linear, a project management too…

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Sorkin’s Rules of Engagement 51:19

21d ago51:19

51:19

Andrew Ross Sorkin, founder of The New York Times’ DealBook and co-host of CNBC’s Squawk Box, joins Dylan for a candid conversation about the ins and outs of his media business. He walks through a typical day in his life, explains why he’s prioritizing quality over quantity (and skipping the media-empire chase), and breaks down his approach to high…

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Apple Tax is Dead, OpenAI Ends Vesting Cliff, Anthropic’s Massive TPU Order | Diet TBPN 29:45

25d ago29:45

29:45

Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in under 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Ma…

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🟡 Evan Spiegel LIVE in the Ultradome | Colin & Samir, RJ Scaringe, Scott Kupor 3:28:44

25d ago3:28:44

3:28:44

(04:53) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (56:21) - Evan Spiegel is the co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc., best known for creating Snapchat, the camera-driven social platform he helped launch while still a Stanford student, and has since become one of the youngest self-made billionaires in tech while steering Snap’s evolution into an augmented-reality–focused c…

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Why we still trust Wikipedia, with cofounder Jimmy Wales 37:15

27d ago37:15

37:15

At a moment when Americans can’t agree on much of anything, one unlikely institution still commands broad trust: Wikipedia. Ian Bremmer sits down with Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales to ask why the crowdsourced encyclopedia remains one of the most visited and relied-upon sites in the world, even as trust in media, government, and tech companies con…

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GPT-5.2 Reactions, Jacob Elordi vs AI, Disney x OpenAI Deal Breakdown | Diet TBPN 30:06

28d ago30:06

30:06

Our favorite moments from today's show, in under 30 minutes. TBPN.com is made possible by: Ramp - https://ramp.com Figma - https://figma.com Vanta - https://vanta.com Linear - https://linear.app Eight Sleep - https://eightsleep.com/tbpn Wander - https://wander.com/tbpn Public - https://public.com AdQuick - https://adquick.com Bezel - https://getbez…

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Disney’s $1B OpenAI Bet, GPT 5.2 Reactions, Saagar Enjeti Weighs In | Matt Levine, Mike Swan, Mike Gallagher 3:16:15

28d ago3:16:15

3:16:15

(02:12) - Disney’s $1B OpenAI Bet (26:57) - GPT 5.2 Reactions (40:53) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (58:46) - Mike Swan, owner and managing broker of Swan Land Company, specializes in ranch, farm, and recreational land sales across the Rocky Mountain West. In the conversation, he discusses the enduring appeal of land investments in the western United Stat…

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Andy Richter on Late Night’s decline, “Dancing With the Stars,” and new media 42:16

28d ago42:16

42:16

Comedy veteran and longtime Conan O’Brien sidekick Andy Richter joins Mixed Signals for an existentially funny conversation about surviving three decades in entertainment. Max and Ben ask Andy about how he became late night’s most adaptable performer, whether he ever worried about becoming “the next Ed McMahon,” and why acting work has become so el…

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The Iger-Altman Alliance 59:20

27d ago59:20

59:20

Dylan and Julia reunite to chew over Disney’s new deal with OpenAI, which will pump more than 200 Disney characters into Sora so fans can generate their own content with the company’s most valuable I.P. They also check in on the WBD sweepstakes: how Paramount and Netflix stack up, what each company’s contingency plans looks like, the regulatory hea…

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Disney Partners with OpenAI, Breaking Down SpaceX’s IPO Plans, Oracle Slips | Diet TBPN 29:20

29d ago29:20

29:20

Our favorite moments from today's show, in under 30 minutes. TBPN.com is made possible by: Ramp - https://ramp.com Figma - https://figma.com Vanta - https://vanta.com Linear - https://linear.app Eight Sleep - https://eightsleep.com/tbpn Wander - https://wander.com/tbpn Public - https://public.com AdQuick - https://adquick.com Bezel - https://getbez…

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Oracle Slides, Disney x OpenAI, SpaceX IPO | Fidji Simo, Dylan Byers, Angela Jiang, Jonathan Slotkin, Aaron Cannon, Karan Kunjur 3:14:57

29d ago3:14:57

3:14:57

(00:36) - SpaceX IPO (29:55) - Oracle Slides (43:16) - Disney x OpenAI (55:38) - Dylan Byers, a founding partner and senior correspondent at Puck, covers the media industry, including business and gossip. He discusses the media's tendency toward self-obsession, highlighting how minor gossip can overshadow significant industry events. Byers also exa…

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Nvidia’s China Shift, Meta AI Drama, Paramount's Pitch | Diet TBPN 29:55

30d ago29:55

29:55

Our favorite moments from today's show, in under 30 minutes. TBPN.com is made possible by: Ramp - https://ramp.com Figma - https://figma.com Vanta - https://vanta.com Linear - https://linear.app Eight Sleep - https://eightsleep.com/tbpn Wander - https://wander.com/tbpn Public - https://public.com AdQuick - https://adquick.com Bezel - https://getbez…

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Warner Deal Drags, H200 Exports Resume, Meta AI Chafe Gate | Joe Weisenthal, Ben Smith, Matt Hicks, Stephen Schwartz, Saam Motamedi, Nicholas Kelez, Antoine Tessier, Filip Kaliszan 3:18:12

30d ago3:18:12

3:18:12

(00:28) - H200 Exports Resume (07:20) - China-Linked AI Chip Smuggling (14:43) - Joe Weisenthal, born September 2, 1980, in Detroit, Michigan, is an American journalist and television presenter, currently serving as the executive editor of news for Bloomberg's digital brands and co-host of the "Odd Lots" podcast. In the conversation, he discusses t…

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Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He’s a Must-Read Media Gossip. 46:51

1M ago46:51

46:51

I chat with lots of media reporters. Lachlan Cartwright is a different beast: An Aussie who started out working for Rupert Murdoch’s tabloids in London and New York, and then on to the National Enquirer — yes, that National Enquirer — back when it was catching and killing stories on behalf on Donald Trump. Now Cartwright runs Breaker, a must-read N…

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Paramount’s Deal Playbook, Trump Opens Nvidia’s China Door, Saudis Loosen Drinking Laws | Diet TBPN 30:42

1M ago30:42

30:42

Our favorite moments from today's show, in under 30 minutes. TBPN.com is made possible by: Ramp - https://ramp.com Figma - https://figma.com Vanta - https://vanta.com Linear - https://linear.app Eight Sleep - https://eightsleep.com/tbpn Wander - https://wander.com/tbpn Public - https://public.com AdQuick - https://adquick.com Bezel - https://getbez…

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Ellison's Counter Offer, Chinese H200s, Data Centers in Space | Aaron Ginn, Matt Kalish, Emil Michael, Blake Scholl, Naveen Rao, Ofir Ehrlich, Gorkem Yurtseven, Pedro Franceschi 3:34:29

1M ago3:34:29

3:34:29

(00:20) - Ellison's Counter Offer (18:23) - Chinese H200s (32:18) - Data Centers in Space (42:30) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (01:01:24) - Aaron Ginn is the CEO and Co-Founder of Hydra Host, a company specializing in high-performance computing infrastructure. In the conversation, he discusses the importance of the United States engaging pragmatically wi…

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Can Yahoo Survive in a Hyper-Niche World? 1:00:14

1M ago1:00:14

1:00:14

Yahoo C.E.O. Jim Lanzone joins Dylan and Julia for a tour of the company’s Apollo era, four years after the private equity behemoth bought the business for just $5 billion—nearly $120 billion shy of its peak valuation. Lanzone breaks down Yahoo’s growth strategy: the metrics that actually matter, how the company monetizes at scale, and what the end…