On with Kara Swisher

Today, we're bringing you an episode of "The Gray Area," another great show from the Vox Media Podcast Network.

In this episode, host Sean Illing talks with Atlantic writer Charlie Warzel about the increasingly weird experience of being online. They discuss AI-generated content, bots, algorithms, the “dead internet theory,” and why so much of the web now feels artificial, manipulated, or unreal. They also explore psyops, conspiracy culture, social media, and the deeper question lurking beneath the AI boom: What are human beings actually for?

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling)

Guest: Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara talks to Father Paolo Benanti, a Franciscan friar, theologian and AI ethics adviser to the Vatican, about why AI has become a central concern for the Catholic Church. They discuss Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on AI, the Church’s role in shaping a more human-centered debate and why Benanti sees today’s AI race as a question of power, democracy, belief and human dignity.

Kara presses him on Silicon Valley’s influence, Peter Thiel's views on the Antichrist and whether the Vatican can serve as a public square for global AI debate. Plus: can the Church help unite countries around shared global safeguards?

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a challenging decade for media, New York Times President and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien and Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff have bucked trends and found ways to grow their respective organizations.  Meredith has overseen a massive expansion of the Times’ digital subscriber base since becoming CEO in 2020. And after spending decades scaling up Vox Media, Jim is splitting the company between James Murdoch's Lupa Systems and Penske Media Corporation.

In a live interview recorded at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, Kara talks to Jim and Meredith about how they’ve adapted to a changing media landscape and the effects of AI on the publishing business. They also talk about the importance of independent journalism, the waning public trust in media, and how news organizations can earn it back.

(A note to listeners: Vox Media is the parent company of the Vox Media Podcast Network, which produces “On with Kara Swisher.”) 

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For this special episode of “On,” we’re switching things up, and you’re the ones asking the questions. Kara offers concrete tips on dealing with bad managers, navigating AI, deciding whether to change careers entirely, and more. Top performers in the business world turn to Kara for advice all the time. Now, it’s your turn. 

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TMZ, the celebrity news juggernaut, opened a Washington, D.C., bureau this spring. Founder Harvey Levin joins Kara to talk about the stories his team is looking for and why he views politics as pop culture.

Levin discusses TMZ’s earlier attempts to establish a presence in the capital and how the latest government shutdown helped revive the idea. He and Kara dig into TMZ’s standards, whether it pays sources, and Levin’s relationship with President Trump. They also discuss TMZ’s coverage of Spencer Pratt’s failed Los Angeles mayoral run.

Plus: how Levin is pivoting the business toward social media and YouTube.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices