Episodios

  • Christiane Amanpour and Jamie Rubin on explaining the world — and podcasting with your ex

    Christiane Amanpour and Jamie Rubin on explaining the world — and podcasting with your ex
    May 23 2025
    Christiane Amanpour has been on the front lines of global media since the 80s, while her ex-husband, Jamie Rubin, held top State Department jobs in the Clinton and Biden administrations. Now, with Jamie freshly out of the White House, they’ve come back together to make a podcast. This week, Ben and Max bring on the divorced couple to talk about why they decided to get into the digital media space now, what the role of media is in shaping foreign affairs, and how the information landscape has changed over their careers. They also talk about Jamie’s role in fighting Russian propaganda with the State Department’s Global Engagement Center and Christiane’s thoughts on the relevance of foreign correspondents in the internet age. 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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    39 m
  • 'Substack isn’t cool,' gatekeepers are, and other strong opinions from tastemaker Chris Black

    'Substack isn’t cool,' gatekeepers are, and other strong opinions from tastemaker Chris Black
    May 16 2025
    Chris Black has gone from managing a pop-punk band to becoming a fashion-world insider, podcast host, and brand consultant for labels like J. Crew and Thom Browne. This week, Ben and Max bring on the How Long Gone co-host to talk about building a cult hit podcast, the surprising comeback of media gatekeepers in 2025, and why he still believes in the power of institutions – including a high-production video version of How Long Gone. Also: his thoughts on Substack fatigue — and what it was like to interview the guitarist of the Smiths. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out the article called “How well do you know Google Search?” on 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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    54 m
  • Clay Travis on mixing sports and politics, his ‘pudding strike,’ and the billion-dollar bet on sports gambling

    Clay Travis on mixing sports and politics, his ‘pudding strike,’ and the billion-dollar bet on sports gambling
    May 9 2025
    Clay Travis started his career with a stunt on his blog involving a pudding strike and NFL streaming rights. From roots in new media, he founded OutKick, a conservative sports and politics site that Fox Corp acquired in 2021. This week, Ben and Max bring on the outspoken media entrepreneur to discuss how sports and conservative politics have become intertwined, how gambling and sports media became intertwined, and how to attract an audience of men. They also ask about his current role as a Fox News personality and his 11 interviews with Donald Trump. Plus, he and Max duke it out over the NBA’s ratings. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out the article called “How well do you know Google Search?” on 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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    57 m
  • Jen Psaki on her journey from politics to cable, what the Trump White House is doing right — and whether there was a Biden cover-up

    Jen Psaki on her journey from politics to cable, what the Trump White House is doing right — and whether there was a Biden cover-up
    May 2 2025
    Jen Psaki has gone from being a behind-the-scenes political staffer, to running the White House briefing room under President Joe Biden, to now hosting a primetime show on MSNBC. This week, Ben and Max bring on the former press secretary to talk about what it means to be a cable news host in 2025, how podcasts are changing how TV works, and what she thinks of the current administration’s press tactics. They also ask about the 2024 race — and what she makes of the idea that there was a cover-up of Biden’s health. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out the article called “How well do you know Google Search?” on 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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    44 m
  • Ezra Klein on Trump, Sanity, and Podcasting

    Ezra Klein on Trump, Sanity, and Podcasting
    Apr 25 2025
    Ezra Klein is on a book tour — you may have heard his voice on some of your other favorite podcasts talking about Abundance. Today, Ben and Max also talk to The New York Times columnist and host… but you won’t hear anything about the book (so you’ll just have to buy it). Instead, they ask Ezra what he’s learned about the media and podcasting through this latest tour, how the “abundance” framework might apply to media, and if Trump will go after the press next. They also discuss how he’s become a rare media celebrity for liberals, why his fans feel saner listening to him — and how that may not be a good thing. 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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    48 m
  • Zeitgeist Genius Tina Brown on Meghan Markle, Vanity Fair and Whether We Still Need Editors

    Zeitgeist Genius Tina Brown on Meghan Markle, Vanity Fair and Whether We Still Need Editors
    Apr 18 2025
    Tina Brown has shaped the culture and captured the zeitgeist since she reinvented Vanity Fair and The New Yorker in the 1980s and 1990s. But now, she’s moved onto the digital media space with her Substack, Fresh Hell. This week, Ben and Max talk to the magazine icon about what she makes of the state of print media today, if we still need editors in a world filled with influencers, and what she thinks the future holds for her former employer, Condé Nast. They also talk about her gripes with our current “uncouth” culture, how we’ve all become “scavengers of info,” and the stories she would assign today if she could. 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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    47 m
  • Can YouTube Debates Bring America Back Together? with Jubilee’s Jason Y. Lee

    Can YouTube Debates Bring America Back Together? with Jubilee’s Jason Y. Lee
    Apr 11 2025
    In a YouTube landscape filled with podcasts and talking heads, Jubilee Media’s wild debate videos stand apart: A doctor debates 20 anti-vaxxers, Ben Shapiro debates 25 liberals, Pete Buttigieg debates 25 conservatives. But are these viral videos bringing a divided America back together or are they just profiting off of polarization? This week, Ben and Max bring on Jubilee’s founder and CEO, Jason Y. Lee, to talk about his vision for “radical empathy” for quite extreme views and how even dumb debates – between flat earthers and “round earthers,” for one – can be productive. They also discuss why the Biden White House censored parts of their video with Pete Buttigieg and the media lessons Democrats can learn for the next election. 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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    52 m
  • Piers Morgan On Going Independent, Meghan Markle, and Why He Likes Pouring Gasoline On the Fire

    Piers Morgan On Going Independent, Meghan Markle, and Why He Likes Pouring Gasoline On the Fire
    Apr 4 2025
    Since the 80s, Piers Morgan has ridden massive changes in the media industry, jumping from print to cable to, more recently, YouTube. This week on Mixed Signals, the TV star joins Ben and (subbing in for Max) Semafor’s head of comms, Meera Pattni, to discuss how he’s building his Uncensored brand, what he likes about being a YouTuber, and if he misses anything about legacy media. They also talk about how some journalists take themselves too seriously, why having fun is important even in news media, and his views on Trump’s term so far. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com and visit their YouTube channel for the latest interview with Vidhya Srinivasan, Google’s VP of Ads and Commerce. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani, @meerapattni If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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    49 m
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