On with Kara Swisher Archiv

Trump’s historic felony conviction, a SCOTUS ruling in favor of presidential immunity, and a dumpster fire Biden vs. Trump debate: Those are just a few of the things that have happened on the American democracy front since Kara spoke to historian Heather Cox Richardson in January. In a special Independence Day episode, Kara and Heather replay that conversation, including history lessons from her book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, and then rejoin at the end. They discuss what Heather thought of the first presidential debate, why she believes changing presidential horses mid-race would be disastrous for Democrats, and how events of the past six months have (or haven't) changed her perspective about American Democracy. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hands with six fingers, mouths with dozens of teeth, hairlines and limbs out of whack: We’ve all seen eye-roll worthy generative AI images. But despite the prevalence of these easy to spot fakes, photography and video media companies like Getty Images are already feeling the impact of AI and trying to integrate the technology without compromising their core business. Kara speaks with Getty CEO Craig Peters about why he can promise users of the Getty AI Generator “uncapped indemnity”, whether he thinks licensing agreements with OpenAI and similar AI companies are “Faustian” deals with the devil, and how better standards to protect visual truth and authenticity could help the industry remain financially viable in the long run. Plus: how worried should we be about deep fakes impacting the 2024 election? Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2024 race is ON and the gloves are coming off: President Biden and former President Donald Trump will go head-to-head tonight, in the first debate of this campaign season [Thursday, 9 pm ET on CNN]. The two are basically tied in the polls, so both candidates are vying for independent voters in a handful of swing states to secure the Oval. Kara hosts a panel of political junkies (Stephanie Ruhle, host of MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle; Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief at the neoconservative Washington Free Beacon; and veteran Republican strategist Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project and author of a new book The Latino Century, How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy) to discuss the top issues for voters, what could turn the tide for Trump or Biden, and whether this debate – or any – can change hearts and minds. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actor and Director Griffin Dunne grew up surrounded by Hollywood fame and celebrity — his father was a TV producer, his aunt the renowned writer Joan Didion, his sister a blossoming actress and the late Carrie Fisher his best friend and onetime roommate. But the Dunne family became famous for tragedy when Griffin’s 22-year-old sister Dominique was murdered by her boyfriend. Dunne’s father, Dominick, chronicled the tumult of the murder trial for Vanity Fair, while privately struggling as a closeted homosexual. Kara talks to Dunne about the difficult decision to revisit these moments in his new memoir The Friday Afternoon Club. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Late spring/early summer is always a busy time for the Supreme Court, but this year, it’s not just the controversial decisions that are making news. The justices themselves have been in headlines — for all the wrong reasons. Kara and an expert panel discuss the ethical lapses, refusals the recuse, and of course, the cases themselves — including the big one, over Trump’s claim to “complete and total” immunity. The panelists are: Judge Nancy Gertner (retired), a lecturer at Harvard Law School and former US District Court judge for the District of Massachusetts who served on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court; Kedric Payne, vice president, general counsel, and senior director for ethics at the Campaign Legal Center; and Judge David Tatel (retired), a former judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and author of the new book Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice. This interview was recorded on Tuesday June 18.  Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus is most famous for her comedic TV characters Elaine Benes in Seinfeld and Veep’s Selina Meyer. But in recent years, Louis-Dreyfus has been showing her dramatic chops, including in her latest film Tuesday, in which she takes on grief, denial and death. She's also been winning awards as the host of her podcast Wiser Than Me. Kara and Julia discuss how in-depth conversations with iconic older women have radicalized her, her concerns about the commercialization of art films and why she thinks comedy is risky - but still very much possible. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara takes the stage with Laurene Powell Jobs at Sixth & I in Washington D.C. to talk about Kara’s recent memoir, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story. In this bonus episode of On, Powell Jobs interviews Swisher about her life as a tech reporter, the incredible influence of tech CEOs, the need for regulation, AI and the best devices of all time. This episode was originally taped on February 29, 2024 and has been edited for clarity and length. You can find the full version of their conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrSy8XJgjjE Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara interviews Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI, and one of the most powerful people in tech. Murati has helped the company skyrocket to the forefront of the generative AI boom, and Apple’s recent announcement that it will soon put ChatGPT in its iPhones, iPads and laptops will only help increase their reach.  But OpenAI's rapid ascent has included its fair share of growing pains. There was “the blip,” as company insiders refer to the brief ousting of Sam Altman as CEO. (Murati became CEO for two days.) There have also been high-profile departures, an open letter accusing the company of putting product over safety, questions about highly restrictive NDAs, and even controversy over whether the company had stolen Scarlett Johansson's voice. On top of that, many fear that generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, will be used to fuel disinformation during the upcoming presidential election. Kara and Murati talk about all this, and more. This interview was recorded live at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC as part of their new Discovery Series. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Abortion will be a key issue in the election this fall and it's also the focus of two Supreme Court rulings expected later this month. This week, Kara speaks with Cecile Richards, activist and former President of Planned Parenthood, about the fight for reproductive rights in the post-Roe era, where abortion fits into the electoral landscape, the potential outcomes of the two SCOTUS rulings, and how technology is enhancing access to abortion. On a more personal note, Cecile also talks about her recent brain cancer diagnosis and how it’s impacted her work as a lifelong activist. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara sits down to talk with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The social media-savvy congresswoman from the Bronx is a member of the bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, and she recently introduced a bill to combat nonconsensual deepfake pornography. Kara and AOC discuss the bill, and her opposition to the TikTok ban, along with her take on the overall tech landscape. They also dive into her recent back-and-forth with Marjorie Taylor Greene, her relationship with the Left, Trump vs. Biden and Gaza.  Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Broad City co-creator Ilana Glazer’s new friendship flick Babes is a no-holds-barred comedy about pregnancy, parenthood and the losses that come with adulthood. Kara talks with Ilana about why women’s bodies are considered “raunchy,” whether YouTube is still a good launch pad for breakout comedians, and how she is rallying Gen Z and Millennial voters to “microdose democracy” through her political non-profit Generator Collective. Plus: why, as a Jewish American, she’s calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When it comes to political comedy, Bill Maher is practically an institution — he’s been hosting a late-night political talk show since 1993 (with a brief hiatus in 2002-03, after Politically Incorrect was canceled following a 9/11 comment). And now the host of Real Time with Bill Maher has a new book out: What This Comedian Said Will Shock You. Kara sat with Bill in his “den of iniquity” to discuss his childhood, politics, the war in Gaza, and, of course, cancel culture.   Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we’re sharing Kara’s recent appearance on Possible, a podcast hosted by Aria Finger and Reid Hoffman from Wonder Media Network. We’ll be back with a new episode of On with Kara Swisher on Thursday, May 30th. You can follow the Possible podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tesla is bleeding execs, and it appears to be reaching a crisis point; over at Twitter/X, new reporting shows that Elon uses the platform to cozy up to right-wing leaders around the world and then presses them to enact policies that benefit to his companies; and while SpaceX continues to dominate in space, serious questions remain about the Pentagon’s reliance on the mercurial industrialist with a seeming soft spot for Putin and Xi. So it’s time to gather three of the best reporters covering Musk and get their take on all things Elon. Kirsten Grind recently joined The New York Times as a tech investigations reporter. Previously, she was at The Wall Street Journal, where she reported on Elon’s drug use and the shockingly acquiescent Tesla board. Tim Higgins is the author of Power Play, Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century, and he writes a weekly column at The Wall Street Journal that is mostly about Elon Musk. And Becky Peterson covers Tesla, SpaceX, and all things Elon at The Information, where she consistently publishes scoops on the inner workings of Elon’s companies. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices