Channels with Peter Kafka

4.4 (543)
BUSINESS NEWS
UPDATED WEEKLY

Media and tech aren’t just intersecting — they’re fully intertwined. And to understand how those worlds work, and what they mean for you, veteran journalist Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers - and gets them to spell it out in plain, BS-free English. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

5H AGO

How to Reinvent a Magazine, with Wired’s Katie Drummond

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 couple of years. As we discuss, Wired has always done interesting and important work — but when Katie got to it, she had a plan to inject it with new life. And it turns out that this plan had Wired perfectly situated to thrive during the Trump 2.0/Elon/Doge era. Also discussed here: Tech’s actual view of Trump; how Canadians actually view America; and how to give yourself a Condé Nast glow-up. Help us plan for the future of Channels by filling out a brief survey: ⁠voxmedia.com/survey⁠. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

52 min
MAY 21

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

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 Mosseri, I had a long list of questions about… lots of things: I wanted to know how Mosseri felt about the company's recent pivot to Trump-friendly policies, and how he looked at TikTok, for instance. And while it may not be the most important thing on Meta's roadmap, I was also really curious about a unique opportunity Mosseri created for himself: the chance to build a brand-new social network from the ground up. What did he want to accomplish with Threads, and what mistakes that earlier social networks made was he hoping to avoid? There's a bunch in here. Take a listen and let me know what you think. Help us plan for the future of Channels by filling out a brief survey: ⁠⁠voxmedia.com/survey⁠⁠. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1h 3m
MAY 14

How Apple trapped itself in China

The iPhone you’re reading this on was made in China. For a long time, that fact was a huge part of Apple’s success story: Working hand-in-hand, Apple and China built a sophisticated supply chain that let Apple manufacture very complicated technology at an enormous scale. Now that relationship seems like Apple’s achilles heel, says Patrick McGee. McGee covered Apple for the Financial Times for years. Now his new book “Apple in China” explains how Apple ventured into China, spent years and tens of billions of dollars investing in the country’s production infrastructure, and now seems trapped there — and in the middle of the U.S./China trade war. McGee’s book is in large part a history book, and one that I’d recommend to anyone who wants to understand Apple, and China. It’s also, obviously, a very timely one. So this interview is part “how did we get here” and also “what happens next”. (Spoiler: Moving Apple’s production to India and Vietnam — something you read about periodically — isn’t going to happen, if ever, for years.) Help us plan for the future of Channels by filling out a brief survey: ⁠⁠voxmedia.com/survey⁠⁠. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1h 12m
MAY 7

Ian Rogers tells me I need a crypto wallet

I wanted to talk to Ian Rogers about his fascinating career. He wanted to talk to me about Ledger, the crypto wallet company he’s working at now. So we did both things. Background: Rogers was an important figure in the digital music business, back when the music business was being fundamentally reshaped by digital. He helped the Beastie Boys get on the internet, long before every band did that. Then he helped bring digital music to millions of people in the MP3 era - first at AOL, then Yahoo — and then in the streaming era — first at Beats, and then Apple Music. Then he did digital stuff at LVMH, the luxury goods conglomerate. Now he’s chief experience officer at Ledger, a French company that has sold 7 million physical storage devices for crypto. I remain confused and skeptical about crypto, but I’m always open to hearing from folks who are passionate about it — to see if they can convince me that I’m missing something. And the most persuasive argument I hear is usually from folks like Rogers — people who were around when the internet was novel and exciting in the 90s, and think they’re seeing the same kind of tectonic shift this time around. It’s a pitch that’s part FOMO — you wouldn’t want to be one of the people who thought the internet was a fad in 1995, right? — and part blue-sky optimism: What if it was 1995 and you could get in on the ground floor of the internet? Take a listen and let me know what you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1h 9m
MAY 6

How to fight Apple and (maybe) win, with Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney

Today's podcast is an in-depth discussion of Apple's App Store rules and how they... wait! Don't leave! I could try to tell you why Apple's App Store rules are important to both Apple and the digital economy (sadly, I just realized I've been covering them for nearly 15 years, so they better be important). But a better messenger for that task is Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games - the company behind Fortnite. Sweeney has spent 5 years fighting Apple in court - and by his estimation has sacrificed $1 billion in revenue - over the way Apple runs its App Store. For most of that time it seemed like a futile effort. But last week a federal judge handed Epic what could be a huge victory, and could potentially cost Apple a meaningful amount of revenue. Apple is going to appeal that ruling, but for now, Sweeney sees this a win for his own company, and many other developers who've chafed at the fees they have to pay Apple every time a consumer wants to give them money. And if you think none of that matters to you, a normal person, Sweeney is happy to explain why (he thinks) you're wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

38 min
APR 30

Tariffs, Trump, TikTok: What’s going to happen to ads in 2025?

There are all kinds of ways to measure the health of an economy. The one I rely on is ad spending. One reason for that is simple: I work in ad-supported businesses, so I want to know about things are going to affect me personally. A less self-interested reason: The health of the ad business is tied directly to the way companies feel about their overall health. So if things turn south, you’ll often see it in falling ad spend. And as the industry gets increasingly digital, that means it’s that much more responsive to changes in the economy: When the pandemic hit 5 years ago, ad spend all but disappeared for a couple months — and then roared back once companies realized how much spending had shifted online. So that’s the background for my chat with Smartly CEO Laura Desmond, who I often rely on for a state-of-the-state when it comes to the ad industry. Desmond is a longtime ad biz veteran, and at her current gig she works directly with digital clients, helping them figure out where to place their money and the best way to optimize their campaigns. So she’s got excellent insight into the most sensitive spenders in the market. Desmond’s takeaway: Long-term changes like a possible TikTok ban just don’t show up on most advertisers’ radars. But potential tariff impacts, which could hit by late May, could be a big hit — if they materialize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

59 min
APR 23

Roblox CEO David Baszucki knows what your kids are doing.

Every day some 85 million people - most of them kids - show up to play, chat and spend money on Roblox. That’s a massive audience just about any tech or media company would like to have. But David Baszucki wants more: He thinks his platform can eventually command 10% of the worldwide gaming market. I spent time talking to Baszucki about those ambitions and what has to happen to make it a reality. But I also wanted to spend time getting him to explain what exactly Roblox is, and why its low-fi, user generated games resonate with his audience. It’s an unlikely special sauce that has made the company, which spent years flying under the radar, worth some $40 billion today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

48 min
APR 16

How to make money in Washington, with Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman

Some people don’t want to pay for media. But lots of people are paying Jake Sherman and his team at Punchbowl News: The 4-year-old startup is thriving by providing super-insidery news and data about what’s happening in Congress. I chatted with Sherman because I wanted to get an update on his business (he says he’s not going to sell it anytime soon, despite lots of speculation to the contrary). I also had a basic, outside the Beltway question: In a world where Congress spends a lot of time not passing bills, what exactly does Punchbowl cover? He was happy to spell it all out for me. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

44 min

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Peter Kafka

Host

4.4

out of 5

543 Ratings

Listen more

04/21/2023

Interested bystander

Let the interviewees talk.
Quit interrupting

May 14

Josh99876

Very interesting subjects and guests, but please let them finished their thoughts instead of continually interrupting with yours. Very frustrating to listen to. Also, Peter tends to trail off in volume at the end of his sentences which is annoying.
Sociopathic 🚽 Rissing in Ohio sigma Rizz

Jan 26

RYLAND fat

Brain rot ski racing, mile racing in Ohio stupidity sigma everything in the wire give me the signal everything I have gotten sigma ribs in a higher toilet writing a review. Yes brain rot give me the recent mile, Racine, Ohio stupidity, stupidity, Rissing, save my everything in the wire give me the singer everything I’ve got gotten signal ribs in Ohio and I hired toilet right here you yes brain right give me everything I recently Ohio stupidity stupidity is the singer everything in it give me the 🧏🏾everything I’ve got I hired a toilet what in the heck? Sus🤔🤫🤣💎🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🚽🧏🏾‍♂️🧏🏾‍♂️🧏🏾‍♂️🧏🏾‍♂️🧏🏾‍♂️
thanks peter

11/07/2024

chronotypes

it is lovely to hear you keep your interviewees to account, keep it up, we will need it
Inside the media bubble but in the best way

10/02/2024

Barbuto12

I’ve known Peter for a long time so I’m a little biased but he really is the most knowledgeable journalist out there about the inner workings of the media business, its movers and shakers, and where it’s headed in the (near) future. Really glad he’s relaunched this series.
Best when it stays out of politics

10/05/2023

CRJ84531

Peter has some really interesting guests on and covers a great range of topics. But too often he shows his lefty political leanings via full conversations or random sidebar comments, and he tends to come across as pretty smug. Would be better if he stuck to the facts and straightforward interviews, which is where he’s at his best.
The endeavor episode

04/08/2023

dosesandmimoses33

Great conversation! It was both refreshing and encouraging to hear a CEO be honest about the motives of a new company. I hope that other companies recognize that industry does not “have” to be stymied by it’s business model objective. At this time, it’s so important that a company be nimble enough to pivot quickly; and to achieve a successful pivot, said company will rely heavily on its team’s ability to work more intuitively and to incorporate more real time data to aid in decision making. Ari- it was really nice to hear honesty and I hope more executives follow your lead. Gratitude
Huge Fan!

01/30/2023

Dan1777999877

I am a huge fan of this show. Peter brings on incredible guests, and has extremely valuable conversations. Insightful, educational and entertaining. Every episode is a home run!
Great guests, hopeless host

03/07/2023

Treasi

I hate writing a title like that but Peter Kafka is so weak. I find him impossible to listen to and I really would like to listen to the topic and the guest. Today, I psyched myself up to listen to the De La Soul episode and he just sounded like a fool. For example implying that getting authorization for sampling other artists music is only a recent thing and De La soul were not really to blame. Copyright law has been around forever and Peter works in media. He should know this in order to do his job properly. The guest Golnar Khosrowshahi had to keep correcting him. Peter may say.. 'I was trying to explain it to folk how may not know this stuff’ or ‘I’m deliberately playing the fool’ but that’s not the audience for this podcast and it’s disrespectful to the guest. He’s excruciating to listen to, every time. He’s droning in the background as I write this.
Not very interesting anymore

01/21/2023

Grandesid

This show used to rise above the host’s natural state of glib smugness and mange to be interesting. Not so much any longer.