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Channels with Peter Kafka

Channels with Peter Kafka

Written by: Vox Media Podcast Network
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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.© 2019 Vox Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved Art Politics & Government
Episodes
  • How to Run a Political Campaign in the TikTok Era (And How Not To)

    How to Run a Political Campaign in the TikTok Era (And How Not To)
    Oct 14 2026
    Most of us stopped watching traditional TV a long time ago. Political campaigns, meanwhile, still spend most of their ad money there.Rob Flaherty has been trying to change that from inside Democratic politics. He’s been the digital guy for Hilary Clinton, and then Joe Biden, and then Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign. (Here’s his post-mortem of that one.) Now he runs a political shop of his own. We talk about why campaigns are still built around TV ads; why campaign consultants have financial incentives to keep buying them; and what it takes to reach voters who live on TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, group chats, and algorithmic feeds instead. We also talk about the difference between paying creators and earning their attention, why some candidates can make social media work without becoming AOC or Zohran Mamdani, and why the next real wave of political innovation may come from the 2028 primaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • Larry Ellison’s Media Ambitions & Kevin Roose on AI’s Biggest Gamble

    Larry Ellison’s Media Ambitions & Kevin Roose on AI’s Biggest Gamble
    Oct 7 2026
    Larry Ellison bought his son a media empire. What does he want from it? Vanity Fair’s Tom Dotan joins me to talk about the billionaire behind Paramount and Warner Bros., his connection to TikTok, and his politics. Tom’s reporting suggests there may be less of a master plan than you’d think. We also discuss why even Ellison’s enormous fortune has limits—and how his media bets are tied to Oracle’s AI gamble.Then, Kevin Roose joins me to discuss his new book, The AGI Chronicles, and a question I keep coming back to: Why did people who think AI could destroy humanity work so hard to build it? We talk about whether those same people can be trusted to slow things down, and I push Kevin on the gap between AI’s promises and what most of us experience. Plus: Why he left The New York Times to build a media business with Casey Newton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • David Ellison's Paramount-Warner Empire & The Fight That Comes Next

    David Ellison's Paramount-Warner Empire & The Fight That Comes Next
    Sep 30 2026
    David Ellison has won Warner Bros. Discovery. Now he has to figure out what, exactly, to do with it. LightShed analyst Rich Greenfield joins me to talk through the next version of the Paramount-Warner empire: Why Ellison wants to be Netflix; why CBS and the NFL still matter so much; and why simply bolting Paramount+ onto HBO Max won’t magically create a winning streamer. Then we zoom out to the much bigger problem for Hollywood: AI is making it easier and cheaper to create video, which could mean an explosion of stuff to watch — and a real challenge to the value of giant movie and TV libraries. Rich thinks the winners will need to become platforms, not just studios. We also talk about Meta’s Muse, and why Rich thinks it could be a much bigger deal than people realize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    44 mins
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