On with Kara Swisher

1,319
News #61News Commentary #16

It's on. Twice a week, award-winning journalist Kara Swisher gets to the heart of the story through no-holds-barred interviews with power players across business, tech, media, politics and beyond. So why do her guests show up? “Smart people,” says Kara, “like difficult questions.”Mondays and Thursdays from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. 

Recent Episodes
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  • The Daily Show’s Josh Johnson Can Make Even A Recession Funny
    Apr 10, 2025 – 01:05:44
  • The Onion’s Owner on Satire, Infowars, Defending Democracy & Trump
    Apr 7, 2025 – 01:03:52
  • Trump’s Attacks on the Press and on Freedom of Expression
    Apr 3, 2025 – 57:30
  • Michelle Buteau on Comedy, Community and Calling Out Dave Chappelle
    Mar 31, 2025 – 57:52
  • Graydon Carter on Vanity Fair, Editing & a Short-Fingered Vulgarian Named Trump
    Mar 27, 2025 – 55:20
  • Fired Up: FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter Say They’ll Fight Trump
    Mar 24, 2025 – 57:42
  • Is America Ready for a Full-Blown Cyberwar? with Nicole Perlroth, Michael Schmidt & Lt. Col. Vindman
    Mar 20, 2025 – 59:21
  • Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson: Less Obstruction, More Government
    Mar 17, 2025 – 01:04:13
  • Chelsea Handler on Men, Trump & Money (+ Excellent Parenting Advice)
    Mar 13, 2025 – 50:14
  • How Sen. Elizabeth Warren Is “Fighting Like Hell” Against Trump, Musk & Big Tech Billionaires
    Mar 10, 2025 – 01:06:11
  • Geraldine Brooks On the Art of Grieving and Spanning the Political Divide
    Mar 6, 2025 – 01:02:08
  • Can Kara Save The Washington Post From Jeff Bezos?
    Mar 3, 2025 – 01:29:21
  • How Trump's Policies Will Shape the Stock Market with Aswath Damodaran
    Feb 27, 2025 – 01:00:13
  • Comedian Ronny Chieng on Political Satire, Trolling Algorithms and Cerebral Dick Jokes
    Feb 24, 2025 – 52:16
  • Rahm Emanuel’s Tough Love Intervention for the Democratic Party
    Feb 20, 2025 – 01:09:11
  • Oren Cass, Paul Krugman & Mariana Mazzucato on Trumponomics
    Feb 17, 2025 – 01:04:32
  • Unchecked and Unbalanced: Trump’s Executive Power Moves and the Rule of Law
    Feb 13, 2025 – 01:06:23
  • Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo on Defying Gravity, the Attack on Diversity and (Maybe) Getting an EGOT
    Feb 10, 2025 – 48:27
  • Dissecting Elon Musk’s Hostile Takeover with Anne Applebaum, Eoin Higgins & Ryan Mac
    Feb 6, 2025 – 01:00:17
  • Why Ben Stiller Made Severance (and Doesn’t Care about What Elon Says About Him)
    Feb 3, 2025 – 01:01:26
  • Trump’s J6 Pardons, the Militia Movement, and the Border
    Jan 30, 2025 – 56:29
  • Social Media’s Original Gatekeepers On Moderation’s Rise And Fall
    Jan 27, 2025 – 01:10:35
  • From Trump to TikTok: Chris Hayes on the Rise of Attention Capitalism
    Jan 23, 2025 – 01:04:22
  • On Trump’s “Day One” Promises: Former DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas Talks Immigration, Terrorism, and Cybersecurity Threats
    Jan 20, 2025 – 54:58
  • Put Your Phone Away: Yondr CEO on the Philosophy Behind Phone-Free Spaces
    Jan 16, 2025 – 59:40
  • Laverne Cox on Meta, Conservatives and The Battle For Trans Rights
    Jan 13, 2025 – 01:03:59
  • Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Regulating Tech, Antitrust, Trump’s Picks & More
    Jan 9, 2025 – 52:42
  • Trump Whisperer Maggie Haberman On Trump 2.0
    Jan 6, 2025 – 59:42
  • AI Ethics and Safety — a Contradiction in Terms?
    Jan 2, 2025 – 53:12
  • Samantha Bee on Being “Democrat-Celibate” (from The Assignment with Audie Cornish)
    Dec 30, 2024 – 41:02
  • Sarah Silverman on Being Wrong – and Treating Trolls with Kindness (from ReThinking with Adam Grant)
    Dec 26, 2024 – 38:31
  • The Best (and Most Overrated) Books of 2024
    Dec 23, 2024 – 01:02:15
  • Meta's Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun Makes the Case for Open Source
    Dec 21, 2024 – 54:39
  • RFK Jr., Vaccines, Bird Flu & Health Under Trump 2.0
    Dec 19, 2024 – 01:08:10
  • Chef Matty Matheson of ‘The Bear’ on Culinary Stardom, On and Off The Screen
    Dec 16, 2024 – 48:44
  • Rep. Ro Khanna on Tech, Trump & Elon
    Dec 12, 2024 – 01:11:16
  • Marc Benioff on Elon, AI Agents, and the “DOGE”
    Dec 9, 2024 – 01:02:25
  • Why Tubi CEO Anjali Sud Says Free Is the Future of Streaming
    Dec 7, 2024 – 54:18
  • Did a Chatbot Cause Her Son’s Death? Megan Garcia v. Character.AI & Google
    Dec 5, 2024 – 01:13:07
  • Nathan Myhrvold: Tech’s Renaissance Man
    Dec 2, 2024 – 01:10:55
  • Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus: Billie Jean King
    Nov 28, 2024 – 01:12:32
  • Leaving X? Where Next? On Bluesky, Threads and the “Fediverse”
    Nov 25, 2024 – 01:05:10
  • Charlamagne tha God on Trump, Journalism and that Anti-Trans Ad
    Nov 21, 2024 – 01:03:53
  • Jon Chu on Wicked, Silicon Valley, and Defying Hollywood’s Gravity
    Nov 18, 2024 – 01:04:46
  • Ta-Nehisi Coates On Trump, Palestine and Journalism as a “Contact Sport”
    Nov 14, 2024 – 01:04:59
  • Trump’s Second Term: How He Did It & What to Expect
    Nov 11, 2024 – 01:03:45
  • Trump vs Democracy: Two Historians’ Perspectives
    Nov 7, 2024 – 59:13
  • The “Elon Election”: What It Means For America and Musk
    Nov 4, 2024 – 56:08
  • Timothy Snyder and Bill Adair on the War on Truth & The Fight for Freedom
    Oct 31, 2024 – 01:04:30
Recent Reviews
  • jdtadj
    Awful podcast.
    Waste of time.
  • J.U.I.C.E.
    Dirty D**E
    Trash show by a snow flake
  • MagikarpSplash
    Fake person
    She’s a bad person. Only thinks about people in terms of their political beliefs. No heart
  • JR in Seattle
    Sharp, substantive, and sometimes even funny!
    An amazing reporter who knows how to get the most interesting and substantive facts and stories out of her guests and topics.
  • Patrick Connolly
    Not interested
    Not interested
  • Jelsert
    Substantive Conversations, Worthwhile Analysis
    This podcast has been a refreshingly substantive light through the quagmire that is our recent time. I’m constantly impressed by the level of sophistication that Kara’s guess and her interview interviews bring to the subjects discussed. Worth listening every week.
  • RaFa my dogs name
    Elizabeth Warren
    I get that we fight at the local level but she didn’t talk about the “grand plan” of the Democratic Party. The party seems ineffective, rudderless, and leaderless. Basically no plan mam.
  • gumbobaker
    Writer
    When a writer vs talking head does a podcast you get a great podcast packed full of info. Thank you.
  • kapnycusa
    Implicit racism
    She’s very good on technology news and has a deep history with a lot of the top tech titans. My biggest issue with her is her deep detailed analysis of elon musk’s antics but glosses over racial preferences and disparate admission’s standards by race (deeply unconstitutional yet she spends no time on this)
  • outraged American
    Love Elizabeth Warren
    But she has no idea what cryptocurrency is or how it works. Please get educated.
  • Brvzq
    WaPo? Ok but….
    If he won’t sell it to you, can you use your influence and connections to build an alternative? This is starting to smack of your ego against mad king egos???
  • madeiramadam
    Wapo
    I would absolutely renew my wapo subscription if Kara was the publisher!!!!
  • mrsjonesjax
    Love Kara, But,
    Kara, I love you and the guests you bring on are so interesting and informative, but my goodness you have got to stop interrupting them when they are answering your questions. Not everyone thinks as quickly as you do and you have to let your listeners hear and process through what these amazing people are saying. Please.
  • Chaim K.
    Horrid Hag stuck in the 90’s
    Kara Swisher’s On with Kara Swisher is the podcast equivalent of a dial-up modem screeching through a thrift-store boombox—outdated, shrill, and stuck in a time warp where 90s tech journalism still thinks it’s edgy. The self-proclaimed “Silicon Valley’s most feared and well-liked journalist” spends her twice-weekly airtime proving she’s neither, just a fossil with a mic who’s more obsessed with name-dropping her ancient Rolodex than saying anything worth hearing today. The premise? “No-holds-barred interviews with power players.” The reality? A bitter hag hurling petty jabs at tech bros she’s clearly jealous of, while pretending her 90s scoops on AOL still matter in 2025. Every episode’s the same: Kara interrupts her guests with smug asides, dripping with contempt like a leaky faucet, only to pivot to her favorite sport—Elon Musk bashing—like it’s still 2018 and anyone cares. Newsflash, Kara: the world’s moved on, but you’re still stuck buffering in Netscape Navigator. Her style’s a relic—think clunky Tamagotchi vibes, but instead of feeding a digital pet, she’s starving us of insight. She brags about “making powerful people squirm,” but the only one squirming is the listener, trapped in her sanctimonious echo chamber. The ads take up half the runtime—ironic for a tech critic who can’t edit a show to save her life. It’s less a podcast, more a time capsule of a has-been who thinks “smart people like difficult questions” means “everyone loves my snark.” Spoiler: they don’t. Horrid? Check. Hag? Double check. Stuck in the 90s? She’s practically dialing into CompuServe to upload this drivel. Save your ears and skip it—Kara’s On, but the world’s long since logged off.
  • Alex Kelley
    Disappointing
    She is so one sided and skews the truth. Not a fan with her alone, do listen to Pivot w/SG
  • prijdaniroo
    Ask and listen
    Kara needs to do more listening. She’s sometimes too eager to voice her own opinion And she needs to get away from her musk obsession.
  • Live Woke
    Rahm Emanuel interview
    I really appreciate the insight into the Democratic Party. I’d love to see Dem leaders loudly embracing civil rights more. Education is about so much more than math and reading. We should be doubling down on diversity!
  • ARH1965
    Interesting
    Kara always has interesting guests and facilitates great discussions
  • jarod waite
    Not you too, Kara
    I genuinely enjoy On and Pivot and think Kara is an excellent journalist. I was disappointed to see that Baghdad Bob (Oren Cass) was invited as a guest on a recent show. We don’t need more gaslighting in our media during this time. I’m a progressive libertarian and regularly vote for R officials in local elections but only support D at the national level. I am open to conservative ideas and think the democrats are on the wrong side of several issues. That said, I will not support facists nor listen to their apologists.
  • lisalfarin
    Excellent interview
    Would have loved to hear from these 3 diverse economists beyond the birds eye view. We experienced an election where white rage, unemployment and the crippling of rural towns/communities turned US from supporting candidates who safeguard democracy, to empowering walking grenades. Continuing to ignore the wealth gap and disinvestment will undermine our national security. Making the boogeyman be China, it does nothing to solve the fundamental problems. Mazzucato is the only one going in the right direction because it’s structural.
  • Odrade28
    Love, love Kara
    Love, love Kara, and have listened to all of her podcasts religiously, but, apologies, I cannot stand the banter with her new cohost, and her voice is like nails on a chalkboard for me. UPDATED 2/25: LOVE THE NEW FORMAT!!!
  • Walks talks and sews
    Kara, George,Jamie
    I’m in tears about the reality, in awe of George telling the truth about sociopaths in the WH, Jamie’s groundedness, and Kara’s increasing courage. I am thinking that living in a blue state again is a good idea for me. Thank you for the best of best conversation.
  • bkches
    Great interview
    On this episode with Cynthia Erivo, Swisher asks thoughtful questions and then gets out of the way for Erivo to answer. An important talent that many podcasters simply do not have. 5 Stars!
  • pianoKT
    Love Anne Applebaum
    Really appreciate Kara’s calmness and directness from her experience w these tech bros. 😳🙄 Love Anne Applebaum bc she understands authoritarian movements and what we do in this new realm for America. Appreciated Mac’s and Higgin’s perspective too.
  • jackdahi
    To the Point!
    As I get older I keep being reminded that time is short. Kara skips the bull and gets right to the point. Love that!
  • Durst98
    Good show. Kara needs to stop talking over her guests
    Kara Swisher does a great job leading conversation on various important political topics with her guests, but in the latest episode about Elon Musk’s takeover, she constantly spoke over her guests, injecting specific words in an attempt to make things more impactful. Granted, we’re in trying times that require serious criticism, but let your guests speak on their own please.
  • Steve_in_Raleigh
    Thumbs down on Hollywood guests
    I like Kara’s hard hitting and informative interviews and panels. I skip all the ones with singers, actors, directors etc. I find them excruciatingly dull.
  • OkrosieD
    I have unsubscribed
    Used to enjoy Kara, and esp early Pivot. I literally cannot listen to her anymore. She name drops, brags about always being right, and constantly talks about how much the fans love her. Thank god for Prof G’s other pods because she is unlistenable.
  • stlounick
    Most Podcasts Introduce Interesting Ideas
    This podcast has been worth my time and I listen to almost all episodes that Ms. Kara Swisher hosts. I like listening to a female with strong opinions and the ability to ask hard questions of guests.
  • RussianJudge
    Cathy O’Neil
    You need to hear this woman, she wrote The Shame Machine. Genius. Some really interesting ideas that warrant deeper discussion. Go there!!!
  • nbsfmc
    Stop making it all about you
    Every single story ends with Kara knowing everyone first and needing to be right about everything. She argues both sides of every topic, not just to get something out of the subject which I could understand, apparently only so she is always right. I am fan of her journalistic work. I don’t understand the self aggrandizing behavior. If she doesn’t know she’s a great journalist, and doesn’t need to tell us all the time, that’s a different issue.
  • wicked shrapnel
    This show is just too extreme
    The viewpoint is of only one political ideology and not one guest comes on the show with a different viewpoint.
  • Spanky spongediver
    Boring & predictable
    Kara is a gossip columnist… nothing more.
  • Gracie is a cat
    Ads. Ads. Ads.
    $$$$$$
  • MargueriteMouse
    Ads
    Hey! Stop whining about the number of ads! Would you rather hit a pay wall ? SMH. PS. Love Love Love all things Swisher ; )
  • Mszoop
    So Annoying
    Kara Swisher is so pretentious and supercilious. This woman cannot stand a moment of silence while listening to her guests. The hmmms and mmmms are ever-present. Does she ever listen back to herself? Please, please allow guests to speak without the automatic, unnecessary, annoying verbal tics. Your book review episode could have been so good…without your input.
  • Cluttershark
    A lone star
    A lone star interviewing fantastic guests. I’m learning so much. Love Kara!
  • Farangkeya
    Love this podcast. More advertisement than others
    Listen to almost all episodes (including Pivot). Feel like they both have the most advertisement segments than many other podcasts (and I listen to many).
  • CK-MA
    Benioff interview
    Benioff is got his head in the sand about Elon and the orange moron!!
  • ThisDotDanni
    WiT Still Believing b/c of Swisher
    Considered getting out of tech for a while and found her on Recode Decode. Her well-calibrated no-B.S. style and dry sense of humor still keep me going when the world often speaks in a monotone of toxic norms.
  • sbl130
    Chatbot and Character.AI
    This was such an important and deeply sad podcast. Kara Swisher did a masterful job highlighting such an important story.
  • Adele Falco CT
    Dec5 Episode a Must for Every Parent
    I recommend every parent -no matter your politics - tune into the episode on ChatbotAI and the suicide of one teenage boy in particular. This is an enormous service to parents, and anyone who cares about how our children are being exploited by tech companies. Do not put these people in charge of our kids. They have little concern for the outcomes.
  • Thisisafakenameftw
    Megan Garcia Interview
    I feel for this mother. However, why wasn’t she asked why her son was able to access the gun in stored in the house? Blaming Character.AI is valid but only goes so far.
  • MGB74
    Looney
    After listening for the first time to this podcast, I now know what Donald Trump meant by the lunatic liberals. They think they are the intelligent thinkers when in fact they are naive fools. Swisher is leading the pack.
  • tampa supporter
    Two historians
    One of the absolute best. Wish many would listen and learn US history
  • HotGarbage123456
    Hateful person
    Too obsessed with Elon! Relax lady, talk about something else!
  • pattiocon
    Charlemagne thé god
    Loved your interview with Charlemagne (the god). Boy, I can see why this guy is so popular. I am his newest fan - love him and you Kara. Thanks for this upbeat conversation.
  • arthousecleaner
    will not listen to the pod cast any longer
    Your show with Ta- Nehisi Coates was fiction- He knows nothing about Israeli history- Ask your co- host Scott Galloway- I am horrified by the episode- you lost a big fan-
  • NYC3210
    Shame on you
    I have listened to Kara for many years but the fact that she had Coates on is grounds for an immediate unfollow.
  • ThegrandmaD
    Ta-Nehisi Coates
    This interview was one every student, parent, citizen should listen to and talk about. Americans need to READ. The written word is most powerful when from the pen of such writers as Ta-Nehisi. Where can you find the books? Go to a public library…reading is FREE. Your brain was designed for learning and creating.
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