Podcast
Mixed Signals from Semafor Media
Hosted by Semafor Podcasts · EN
Every Friday media reporter Max Tani and Semafor Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith pull back the curtain on the most important stories about media, revealing why you see and hear what you see and hear.
Mixed Signals from Semafor Media is supported by Think with Google.
59episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Andy Richter on Late Night’s decline, “Dancing With the Stars,” and new media
Dec 1200:42:16Summary readyComedy veteran and longtime Conan O’Brien sidekick Andy Richter joins Mixed Signals for an existentially funny conversation about surviving three decades in entertainment. Max and Ben ask Andy about how he became late night’s most adaptable performer, whether he ever worried about becoming “the next Ed McMahon,” and why acting work has become so elusive in Hollywood. Andy also talks about the decline of late night as a cultural force, and how “Dancing With the Stars” accidentally turned him into a TikTok phenomenon. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltaniIf you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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David Remnick on 100 years of the New Yorker, Netflix stardom, and why Trump was late to meet him
Dec 500:44:03Summary readyThe New Yorker’s longtime editor-in-chief David Remnick joins Mixed Signals for a candid conversation about a new Netflix documentary about the magazine, and the New Yorker’s past, present, and uncertain future. Max and Ben ask Remnick how a century-old institution adapts to the digital age, and about what he’s learned from nearly three decades on the job. Remnick also reflects on magazine subscriptions models, Max's reporting about who should take his job , and why he’s grateful he never joined Twitter. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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Trump’s war on public media, with PBS CEO Paula Kerger
Nov 2800:35:34Summary readyPaula Kerger, the chief executive of America’s public broadcaster, joins Mixed Signals at a moment when public broadcasting is facing its most existential threat in decades. Max and Ben ask her about the political onslaught from the Trump administration and Congress, and what losing federal support will mean for hundreds of local stations. Kerger makes the case for kids’ programming, and spars with Ben about the relevance of broadcast television in the first place. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltaniIf you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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Can the Supreme Court keep its secrets? With Jodi Kantor of the New York Times
Nov 2100:39:38Summary readyNew York Times investigative reporter Jodi Kantor joins Mixed Signals to explain how she’s revealed the secrets of internal deliberations behind the ceremony and black robes of the US Supreme Court. Max and Ben ask whether the court is actually leaking more, how newer justices are reshaping its public face, and what Kantor has learned about the culture of secrecy and power inside a long-impenetrable institution. She also reflects on the post–#MeToo media landscape and the fracturing of “factual consensus.” Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltaniIf you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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Derek Thompson on why everything is becoming television, and whether democracy can survive it
Nov 1400:51:01Summary readyIs television the final form of all media? Derek Thompson, the co-author of Abundance, podcaster, and Atlantic writer joins Mixed Signals to explain what he sees as the forces behind what Ben and Max keep observing: The way in which podcasts and other forms of journalism appear to be getting their largest audience in an endless, passive feed of videos first observed by analysts of 20th century television. Derek discusses all that as well as his own turn toward independent media, and his personal pivot to video. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltaniIf you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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GQ Editor Will Welch on masculinity, celebrities, and staying cool as he ages
Nov 700:44:26Summary readyWill Welch is the Global Director of GQ, and has been the editor-in-chief of its US operation since 2019. On this week’s Mixed Signals, Welch talks to Ben and Max about how the magazine plans to address men amid the prominence of the manosphere, the value in covering niche subcultures, and how the parties thrown by the magazine operate as content creation mechanisms. Welch also talks about how he works with celebrities, praising Robert Pattinson as a more creative collaborator than he’s used to. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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Ken Burns on the future of PBS, the new age of media, and why documentaries will outlast TikTok
Oct 3100:44:03Summary readyKen Burns has been telling the story of America through his entire career with genre-defining documentaries on the Civil War, the Vietnam War, and now the American Revolution. This week, Ben and Max bring on the renowned documentarian to talk about his latest series, the parallels he sees between America’s founding moment and today’s media environment, and what we can learn from our history. They also discuss what he makes of the Trump administration’s cuts on PBS, and – after spending 10 meticulous years making a 12-hour documentary – his take on short form video and talk podcasts like this one. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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The inside story of Sydney Sweeney's 'Great Jeans' — and why American Eagle ignored crisis comms
Oct 2400:42:26Summary readyAmerican Eagle’s summer campaign with Sydney Sweeney blew up in ways no one could’ve imagined – but chief marketing officer, Craig Brommers, knew they were going to hit a cultural nerve. This week, Ben and Max bring on the AE CMO to give us an inside look into the “Great Jeans” campaign, what he made of the controversy that surrounded it, and how Donald Trump and JD Vance boosted their sales. They also discuss how marketing today is like running an entertainment company, why he ignored the advice of what he calls the “crisis communication industrial complex,” and whether their campaign with Travis Kelce was timed to Kelce’s engagement to Taylor Swift. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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Governor JB Pritzker on Chicago, ICE, and the information war with Trump’s White House
Oct 1700:49:03Summary readyChicago 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 Trump White House in the new media landscape. They also talk about how conservative media is shaping the situation on the ground, what he thinks of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s trolling approach to Trump, and whether we should bet on the Chicago Bears. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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Mark Cuban on AI in politics, running for president (or not), and why he hates the media business
Aug 15, 202500:46:50Summary readyMark 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 how he predicted today’s media landscape in 1995, why he hates the media business, and why he thinks AI is the biggest threat to media and politics. They also discuss if he’ll actually run in 2028 and which Democratic candidates have the best shot. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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