Best Semafor Podcasts (2025)

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Governor JB Pritzker on Chicago, ICE, and the information war with Trump’s White House 49:03

Play Pause

5d ago49:03

49:03

Chicago is either a war zone quickly spiraling out of control, or a peaceful city under siege by an overreaching federal government. It all depends on who you ask — and which channel they watch. This week, Ben and Max bring on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to talk about how he’s navigating a communications crisis and a messaging battle against the …

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The End of Mass Media—and What Comes Next 56:54

4h ago56:54

56:54

We spend a lot of time on this show talking to people who run media companies. We also spend a lot of time talking to media reporters. So here’s our one-man Venn diagram: Brian Morrissey runs The Rebooting, where he podcasts, writes and hosts events, all geared at making people in the media business smarter about the media business. If you want to …

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John Fugelsang on Jesus’s ACTUAL Politics 45:11

3d ago45:11

45:11

Donald Trump and the Republican Party have the backing of Evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians. But if you read the Bible or listen to the teachings of Jesus Christ, it would be clear that their policies are anything but Christ-like. We're joined by comedian, radio host, and NYT bestselling author John Fugelsang to discuss his new book, “Sepa…

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The PR Guy Who Says the AI Boom Is a Bust 54:36

7d ago54:36

54:36

The AI story is changing fast. A few months ago, it was all promise and inevitability. Now even AI boosters are asking if the numbers make sense. Ed Zitron got there early. He runs a PR firm for a living, which means he’s supposed to help people sell their stories. But he’s become best known for tearing tech’s biggest stories apart. And he’s been p…

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David Hogg on Electing Young Progressive Dems 48:46

10d ago48:46

48:46

We're thrilled to welcome David Hogg to the podcast. Hogg is a co-founder of March For Our Lives and his PAC, Leaders We Deserve. He shares about how the tragedy in Parkland, FL launched him into the political fray. Hogg notoriously served as a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee for a brief time. He tells us about some of the inner wor…

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Alison Roman on cookbooks, food influencers, and the surprising way AI is changing her recipes 49:28

12d ago49:28

49:28

Alison Roman was one of digital media’s first food stars – she’s had recipes go viral since 2018 and an infamous ‘cancellation’ in 2020. Now, with her latest cookbook, Something From Nothing, she’s trying to move away from life on the Internet. This week, Ben and Max bring on the chef and author to talk about food media, the value of a physical coo…

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Why the Guardian Doesn't Need a Billionaire to Thrive 39:00

14d ago39:00

39:00

In lots of ways Guardian Media Group is facing the same problems as every other news publisher: A tricky ad environment, platform problems, looming AI threats. One big difference: The Guardian also has a $1.5 billion trust backing the non-profit, which seems way, way better than being owned by a run-of-the-mill billionaire who might want to meddle …

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Norm Ornstein on Another Chaotic Week in DC 50:51

17d ago50:51

50:51

Chaos has ensued across the federal government as we face another shutdown. We're joined by political scientist, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and friend of the show, Norm Ornstein, to make sense of it all. What is this shutdown all about? Healthcare. With Republicans in charge of the House, the Senate, the Presidency, A…

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Blackbird Spyplane’s Jonah Weiner on Substack, resisting selling out, and Obama’s pants legacy 49:05

19d ago49:05

49:05

Blackbird Spyplane, a style and culture newsletter, launched in 2020 as one of the early adopters and success stories on Substack. This week, Ben and Max bring on co-author and longtime magazine journalist, Jonah Weiner, to talk about how the newsletter has evolved, how it changed his marriage, and why he’s ‘grossed out’ by affiliate links. They al…

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Almost Everyone is Taking Money from OpenAI. Why is Ziff Davis suing them? 34:22

21d ago34:22

34:22

In the future, digital publishers could get run over by AI. In the present, they are deeply concerned about Google, and the prospect that the search giant is going to choke off their last reliable traffic stream. That may explain why lots of publishers are making deals with OpenAI now -- and doing a lot of grousing about Google. Ziff Davis CEO Vive…

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Dr. Tom Frieden and Brandy Zadrozny on RFK Jr. and the CDC 45:55

24d ago45:55

45:55

Trump picked RFK Jr. to take over the Department of Health and Human Services, and chaos has ensued. So far, RFK Jr. is ignoring the advice of experts and bringing along his cronies to push vaccine skepticism. It could have a devastating impact on the health of Americans for years to come. We're joined by Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, who cu…

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Can MS survive without NBC? Inside CEO Mark Lazarus’ efforts to save cable’s great brands 54:55

26d ago54:55

54:55

MSNBC and 10 other television channels, from CNBC to Golf Channel, are splitting from NBC over the next several weeks to form a new digital-focused, publicly traded company called Versant. In his first interview about the new “SpinCo,” Ben and Max talk to CEO Mark Lazarus about how he envisions the company will operate, how he wants to grow each of…

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The Future of Late Night TV, Jimmy Kimmel, and The First Amendment 26:53

28d ago26:53

26:53

When’s the last time you stayed up to watch a late night TV monologue? Months? Years? Decades? I’m not sure, either. But I stayed up Tuesday night to watch Jimmy Kimmel’s return. James Poniewozik, who covers TV for the New York Times, just caught up with it the next day on YouTube. Which underscores one of the odder parts of the Trump v. Kimmel fig…

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BBC's The Global Story 6:16

29d ago6:16

6:16

Hear a teaser for The Global Story, the daily BBC news podcast that covers the intersection where the world and America meet. Find The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.By The Al Franken Podcast

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Randi Weingarten on Defending Our Public Education 44:30

1M ago44:30

44:30

We are joined by Randi Weingarten, the President of the American Federation of Teachers, to discuss her new book, “Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy.” In the book, Weingarten details how there has been a systematic demonization of teachers and public education in America. She argues that one of the pillars of …

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Malcolm Gladwell’s theories on podcasting, America, and Joe Rogan 54:02

1M ago54:02

54:02

Malcolm Gladwell is a man of many theories – he’s made a career of it through his books and podcasts through Pushkin Industries. This week, Ben and Max bring on the author and Revisionist History host to get his current theories about the state of podcasting, how that industry can extend your career, and why he’s betting on narrative shows when eve…

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I tried Zuckerberg's $800 Ray-Bans. Are they the future? With Alex Heath 45:00

1M ago45:00

45:00

A year ago I got try a pair of $10,000 computer goggles from Meta. The tech was super-impressive, but you couldn’t buy them them. You still can’t. Now Mark Zuckerberg is trying a similar idea. But this time around the the tech is scaled-down, lighter and way cheaper: the new version costs $800, and you’ll be able to buy them in a couple days. Why w…

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How TBPN Made a Tech News Splash 39:10

1M ago39:10

39:10

John Coogan knows what you’re thinking: the world does not need another tech podcast. And the world does not need another podcast featuring two dudes talking. Yet Coogan and Jordi Hays have started another tech podcast, featuring the two of them talking and… it’s a hit. In the span of a year, TBPN has become the place where tech execs go to chop up…

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Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on Reducing Violent Crime 41:31

1M ago41:31

41:31

Baltimore, Maryland is one of Donald Trump's most frequent targets when talking about crime in America. As the President continues to threaten to send troops into American cities, we wanted to hear from Baltimore's mayor, Brandon Scott. Since Mayor Scott took office, the city has seen a dramatic drop in violent crime. He explains his policies and h…

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How AI is reshaping media, with Google’s VP of marketing, Josh Spanier 37:43

1M ago37:43

37:43

This week, a special episode featuring Josh Spanier, VP of marketing at Google, who you might recognize from our branded segments. In this sponsored episode, Ben asks Josh about how Google thinks about advertising, how he’s navigated the technological changes in that space, and if AI is going to homogenize all of the ads we see. Josh also answers s…

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Patch’s AI Experiment: Thousands of Newsletters, Zero Humans 39:07

1M ago39:07

39:07

Everyone agrees that the decline/disapperance of local news is a big problem. No one agrees about the best way to solve it. So let’s check in on a new AI push from Patch, the people who have been trying to do local news, online, at scale, for more than two decades. Last spring, Patch CEO Warren St. John announced that he was running local newslette…

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War Correspondent Tim Mak on the War in Ukraine 46:13

2M ago46:13

46:13

Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month and came up empty handed... No ceasefire, no concessions, nothing. So what does the future of the war in Ukraine look like? We turn to journalist Tim Mak who has been based in Kiev since the start of the war. Tim is the founder of The Counteroffensive, a Substack that ch…

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How to be elite in the age of populism, with the FT’s Roula Khalaf 43:35

2M ago43:35

43:35

The Financial Times is the paper for business and world leaders, and comes with a hefty subscription price of $45/month. But what does it mean to serve the elite in a growing age of populism, and what are the consequences of high quality journalism only being available to the 1%? This week, Ben and Max bring on the editor of the FT, Roula Khalaf, t…

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Oliver Darcy Thinks the Media Doesn’t Get It. So He Built Status 53:40

2M ago53:40

53:40

One thing about the internet is that it lets you build really, really fast. A little more than a year ago, Oliver Darcy was an unemployed former CNN media reporter. Today he’s the proprietor of Status, his must-read media newsletter. In our conversation, we spend a little bit of time talking through the mechanics of his two-man operation, and how h…

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BEST OF: Bob Odenkirk on Comedy (and Drama)! 51:41

2M ago51:41

51:41

In this Best Of episode, we revisit our 2022 conversation with comedian and actor Bob Odenkirk! We got to hear from him about his memoir “Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, Drama” and his early beginnings writing comedy in grade school. We reminisce about our days together at Saturday Night Live and discuss some of our favorite sketches. We also talk about hi…

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How media drove America crazy, with Thomas Chatterton Williams 46:10

2M ago46:10

46:10

Five years since the start of the pandemic and the racial reckoning post-George Floyd, we’re still seeing the effects that 2020 had on culture and politics. This week, Ben and Max bring on The Atlantic staff writer, Thomas Chatterton Williams, to talk about how we can trace Donald Trump’s re-election to that summer, the role that media played in fu…

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Why Henry Blodget is Building Another Media Company 57:56

2M ago57:56

57:56

Henry Blodget can’t help himself. The Business Insider founder is starting another media business, knowing full well how difficult the industry can be. You can watch him build it in real time: Regenerator on Substack, and Solutions on TikTok, YouTube and everywhere you hear your favorite podcasts. Henry — who hired me to work at Business Insider in…

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Barbara McQuade and Daniel Richman on Trump’s Politicization of the DOJ 53:29

2M ago53:29

53:29

In his second term, Donald Trump has upended many American institutions, but perhaps none more than the Department of Justice. He's filled the DOJ with lackeys, like AG Pam Bondi, who are corrupting our system of justice in ways never seen before. We're joined by two veterans of the DOJ: Barbara McQuade, professor at University of Michigan Law Scho…

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Don Lemon on Elon Musk, Chris Cuomo, and why YouTube is better than CNN 39:54

2M ago39:54

39:54

After his dramatic breakup with CNN and failed partnership with Elon Musk’s X, Don Lemon now has almost 800,000 subscribers on YouTube. This week, Ben and Max bring on the broadcaster-turned-streamer to discuss what he’s learned in the transition to new media, the latest on his legal battle with Musk, and if there’s a place for centrists on YouTube…

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ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro on streaming, the NFL and sports betting 48:14

2M ago48:14

48:14

The media industry has been waiting for ESPN to cut the cord for a decade. Now it’s finally happening: This week the sports TV giant will let you start streaming — without a cable TV subscription — for $30 a month. Why now? ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro is quite frank about it: Along with his boss — Disney CEO Bob Iger — he wanted to make as much money fr…

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Ari Berman on the GOP’s Gerrymandering Plot 49:20

2M ago49:20

49:20

With Donald Trump and the Republican Party low in the polls, Texas is resorting to one of their favorite ways to win voters: cheating. They’ve drawn new maps to implement unprecedented gerrymandering, taking away five Democratic-held seats - all done at Trump’s insistence, of course. We're joined by Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent …

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Mark Cuban on AI in politics, running for president (or not), and why he hates the media business 46:50

2M ago46:50

46:50

Mark Cuban is everywhere – and famously accessible. But what might be called overexposure in a previous era is now a strength in a fragmented media world, to the point that many people want him to run for president in 2028. This week, Ben and Max bring on the former Shark Tank “shark” and former majority-owner of the Dallas Mavericks to talk about …

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A Busy - and Expensive - Summer for AI, with NYT's Mike Isaac 51:42

2M ago51:42

51:42

What makes a particular engineer worth $250 million to Mark Zuckerberg? What does Trump 2.0 mean — and not mean — to people building large language models? I didn’t know the answers to these questions either. So I got the New York Times’ Mike Isaac, who covers this stuff for a living, to walk me through some of the biggest questions in AI right now…

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Franklin Foer on the Famine in Gaza 50:15

2M ago50:15

50:15

Gaza faces mass starvation as Israel blocks critical food and aid to the region. We're joined by The Atlantic's Franklin Foer to discuss his recent piece, “Israel's Last Chance,” and how the only answer to this atrocity is for Israel to flood Gaza with food. Foer also discusses the legitimate criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu, while acknowledging tha…

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Pablo Torre on ESPN, investigating LeBron, and becoming the New York Times' first 'creator' 1:03:36

3M ago1:03:36

1:03:36

Pablo Torre was one of ESPN’s rising stars — a fixture on shows like PTI and Around the Horn. But now he’s building something outside the machine. This week, Ben and Max bring on the host of Pablo Torre Finds Out to talk about leaving ESPN, launching his own show with Dan Le Batard’s Meadowlark Media, and how it recently became part of The Athletic…

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Why the Algorithm is Making Comedy Boom, Again 58:53

3M ago58:53

58:53

The last time I talked to Jesse David Fox about the comedy boom it was… March 5, 2020. Since then, some things have changed. But in other ways it’s just the same: comedy - or at least, some kinds of comedy - seems almost custom-built for our current technological and cultural moment, and it’s easier than ever to get this stuff on your devices whene…

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Jonathan Alter on Trump’s Authoritarian Police State 45:44

3M ago45:44

45:44

We're joined by journalist and best-selling author, Jonathan Alter, to dig deeper into the latest in Trump’s America. Jonathan’s most recent piece in Washington Monthly explains how the BBB’s enormous funding for ICE will turn America into a police state. With over 75 billion dollars, ICE will now be bigger than all American law enforcement agencie…

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Emily Maitlis on Epstein, Prince Andrew, and why American journalists can’t do interviews 52:25

3M ago52:25

52:25

Emily Maitlis got one of the biggest scoops in the Epstein story when she interviewed Prince Andrew about his involvement in 2019. She was then a longtime presenter for the BBC, but has since moved onto hosting one of the UK’s top podcasts, The News Agents. This week, Ben and Max bring on the British broadcaster turned podcaster about how she think…

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What is TV’s endgame? 47:28

3M ago47:28

47:28

A decade ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger freaked out the media industry by acknowledging something many of us saw coming — his previously unassailable TV business was starting to erode. But even with a 10-year warning, today’s moguls seem unable to cope with 2025’s reality: The pay TV business is permanently eroding, and there’s nothing in its place that’…

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Kevin Nealon on His Career in Comedy! 1:03:02

3M ago1:03:02

1:03:02

We're thrilled to welcome an old friend from Al’s SNL days, comedian Kevin Nealon! Kevin and Al trade stories from working together on Saturday Night Live and discuss how the show has changed over the years. Kevin shares how he created several trademark bits, including Mr. Subliminal and Hans and Franz. Plus, we get backstories on some sketches tha…

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Scott Galloway on money, marketing, and masculinity 44:01

3M ago44:01

44:01

Scott Galloway has become ubiquitous in the new media world – he hosts 6 podcasts and counting – and he’s emerged as a voice for an underserved audience of young men on the left. This week, Ben and Max talk to the Pivot co-host about how he turned a career in marketing into a new kind of media stardom, how much money his podcasts make him, and why …

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Why Trump is defunding NPR and PBS - and suing Rupert Murdoch 35:59

3M ago35:59

35:59

Reporting on the place you work is not fun. But it is an occupational hazard for media reporters — particularly for NPR’s David Folkenflik. That’s because National Public Radio — along with Public Broadcasting Service, its TV counterpart — is quite frequently the target of attacks from critics on the right, who would like the federal government to …

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Catherine Rampell on Trump’s Economic Policies 39:49

3M ago39:49

39:49

We’re joined by Washington Post columnist and co-host of MSNBC's The Weekend, Catherine Rampell! Catherine breaks down what the Big, Beautiful Bill means for Americans and why it's been so important for Trump and the Republicans to get it done. It will balloon our deficit and gut the social safety net. And for what? Tax breaks for the richest Ameri…

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

3M 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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Inside the Rise and Fall of Condé Nast with Michael Grynbaum 47:38

3M ago47:38

47:38

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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Dahlia Lithwick on The Godawful SCOTUS Term 48:54

3M ago48:54

48:54

Another devastating term of Trump's Supreme Court has come to a close. There's a lot to be angry about, so we're joined by Dahlia Lithwick, our authority on all things SCOTUS and host of Slate’s podcast, Amicus. Dahlia explains how this Supreme Court is using the "shadow docket" to advance bad policy without full briefings or arguments and how the …

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

3M 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 48:09

4M ago48:09

48:09

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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Marc Elias on Trump’s Authoritarian Second Term 46:24

4M ago46:24

46:24

One of Donald Trump's priorities when he returned to the White House was to target law firms that he felt had wronged him. While some immediately caved to his demands, others fought back... and won. We're joined by Marc Elias, preeminent election lawyer and founder of Democracy Docket, to discuss Trump using his second term to settle personal score…

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

4M 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…