Episodes

  • I tried Orion, Mark Zuckerberg's $10k face computer

    I tried Orion, Mark Zuckerberg's $10k face computer
    Sep 25 2024
    Mark Zuckerberg, along with most of the men running big tech companies, has spent many years and tons of money trying to put a computer on your face. Now it looks like he’s getting very close to making it a reality: He’s just debuted Orion, a pair of bulky — but not too bulky — glasses that are also a computer. You can’t buy these things yet - they cost Meta a ton to make — but Meta thinks you’ll buy something like it in the not-too-distance future. The crucial caveat here is that we don’t know if this actually true. And it’s possible we never find out - there could be engineering challenges that mean Meta can never get this thing into mass production. But Zuckerberg certainly seems confident. I got to try Orion briefly, so I want to share some of my impressions at the top of this episde. Then I talk to the Verge’s Alex Heath, who is both a face computer expert and a Mark Zuckerberg expert, and got to use Orion and talk to Zuckerberg at the same time. We talk about why Zuckerberg is building these things, why he’s showing them off — and why Zuckerberg is spending a lot of time telling everyone that his is a new Zuckerberg, and that he’s done with politics and done apologizing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    36 mins
  • YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wants to share the wealth

    YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wants to share the wealth
    Sep 18 2024
    YouTube turns 20 next year, which makes it positively ancient by internet standards. Yet the world’s biggest video site is still incredibly relevant for huge swaths of the globe, even if it doesn’t get the media attention other sites generate. It’s also the only major social platform that routinely shares revenue with the users who create the stuff that powers the site. I think that if Google executives took a truth serum they’d tell me they’re jealous of places like TikTok and Instagram, which also have giant businesses but share much, much less of the wealth with their users - but CEO Neal Mohan insists that’s not the case. In this conversation we spend quite a bit of time talking about that business model, and much more: Like how Mohan thinks about AI; why he’s also in the cable TV business; and how he’s thinking about his company’s role in the upcoming US election, given the possibility of more election denialism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • How David Remnick remade the New Yorker

    How David Remnick remade the New Yorker
    Sep 11 2024
    When David Remnick got to the New Yorker in 1998, it was very much a capital M Magazine — it existed on ink and paper, and that was about it. Now it’s still a Magazine, but it’s also everything else you need to be to survive as a media company in 2024 — a robust online publisher, a podcast machine, a video operation, conference host and more. Along the way, it also pivoted from an ad-based business model to one that thrives on consumer subscriptions. And it remains one of my favorite publications, hands down. So I was delighted Remnick took time to talk to me about what has changed at the New Yorker under his tenure, and what hasn’t. Also discussed here: Whether the New Yorker still has special status among owner Conde Nast’s roster of titles; the acquisition Remnick should have made but didn’t; and why he invited, and then uninvited, Steve Bannon to speak at the 2018 New Yorker Festival. By the way: Welcome to the first episode of Channels! Feel free to send guest suggestions and (just about) anything else my way: pkafka on most of the socials. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • Welcome to Channels with Peter Kafka

    Welcome to Channels with Peter Kafka
    Sep 10 2024
    What happens when you mash up media, tech and business? You get a million things to talk about, and that’s what we’ll be doing on this show: Talking to people who run big tech and media companies, the people who are doing some of the most interesting work in those worlds, and people who can help us understand all of it. And by “we” I mean “me” - I’m Peter Kafka, and I’m a journalist who has been covering the collision of tech and media for a long time, at places like Forbes, Recode, Vox and now Business Insider. If you want, you can think of this show as a way to listen in on the interviews I do to get smarter about my work. And if you think all of the above sounds like the show that used to be called Recode Media with Peter kafka? You are smart, and perceptive and good-looking. And yup! Same idea, same guy, new name. Coming soon, to your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    2 mins
  • That’s a wrap (for now)

    That’s a wrap (for now)
    Dec 7 2023
    Peter Kafka, soon to be formerly of Vox, reviews the year in media with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw. What did we learn from the strikes? Is the bundle back? Are movies back? What’s going on with whatever the NBA is doing right now? And what’s up with Bob Iger saying he didn’t say something he definitely said on live TV? This is the last episode of “Recode Media” in its current form, but stay subscribed to this feed! Peter and this show will be back with a new name and a new corporate daddy in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • Sam Altman’s back at OpenAI. What’s next?

    Sam Altman’s back at OpenAI. What’s next?
    Nov 29 2023
    After a wild series of events, Sam Altman is back as CEO of OpenAI… with more power than ever before. The Verge’s Alex Heath worked sleepless nights covering every twist and turn of this saga. He updates Vox’s Peter Kafka about where we are now, what all of this means moving forward, and how tech journalism can drive someone to mistake alcohol for water. Then, we continue with artificial intelligence talk as News/Media Alliance President and CEO Danielle Coffey pops in to discuss the journalism industry’s response to having its assets fuel generative models like OpenAI’s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    47 mins
  • What just happened to OpenAI?

    What just happened to OpenAI?
    Nov 20 2023
    The board of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, ousted CEO Sam Altman on Friday. Since then, the board has appointed not one, but two, interim CEOs. And Altman and his OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman got snatched up by Microsoft. The New York Times’ Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to talk about what we know and what we don’t about this whole situation. 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
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    30 mins
  • Why so, Sirius?

    Why so, Sirius?
    Nov 16 2023
    SiriusXM makes money by beaming music and talk radio - especially Howard Stern - to your car using satellites and selling monthly subscriptions. That turns out to be a surprisingly resilient business: The company has 34 million subscribers and $9 billion in annual revenue. But CEO Jennifer Witz knows she has to adapt to the streaming world, so she’s refreshing the company’s brand and app, with the hopes that you’ll keep listening when you’re not driving. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks to Witz about how she plans to position her company in a crowded field. Then, Peter catches up with one of his favorites, Rob Harvilla (@harvilla), about his new book. It’s an adaption of his excellent podcast, which goes by the same name: 60 Songs that Explain the ’90s. 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
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    35 mins