Last year, AI and machine learning startups raked in about half of all VC funding in North America. And so far this year, AI is still leading the pack. But a huge chunk of the money in the Q1 — $40 billion — went to one player: OpenAI. So is there still room for smaller, more focused startups in the AI gold rush? Or will it be a case of “winner takes all?”

In this live conversation at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center's inaugural Discovery Series, Kara speaks with Gary Rivlin, author of “AI Valley: Microsoft, Google and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence,” and Christy Wyskiel, senior advisor to the president of Johns Hopkins University for innovation and entrepreneurship and the executive director of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures.

The three discuss the impact of government cuts on AI research, how small AI startups can compete with the tech giants, and how AI could revolutionize health care. 

This interview was recorded on April 28, 2025.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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Few technological advances have made the kind of splash –– and had the potential long-term impact –– that ChatGPT did in November 2022. It made a nonprofit called OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, household names around the world. Today, ChatGPT is still the world’s most popular AI Chatbot; OpenAI recently closed a $40 billion funding deal, the largest private tech deal on record. But who is Sam Altman? And was it inevitable that OpenAI would become such a huge player in the AI space?

Kara speaks to two fellow tech reporters who have tackled these questions in their latest books: Keach Hagey is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Her book is called “The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI and the Race to Reinvent the Future.” Karen Hao writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series. Her book is called “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI.” They speak to Kara about Altman’s background, his short firing/rehiring in 2023 known as “The Blip”, how Altman used OpenAI’s nonprofit status to recruit AI researchers and get Elon Musk on board, and whether OpenAI’s mission is still to reach AGI, artificial general intelligence.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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Barry Diller’s fingerprints are all over pop culture. From inventing the Movie of the Week and pioneering the television mini-series to launching the FOX broadcast network, redefining home shopping channels, and popularizing dating apps — Diller has had a hand in shaping the American experience for decades. 

His memoir, Who Knew, takes readers from his difficult childhood through his meteoric rise in Hollywood and finally, his reinvention as a groundbreaking internet entrepreneur. 

And although much of the press around the book has focused on Diller’s sexuality and his relationship to his wife, Diane von Furstenburg, nothing in his personal life is anywhere near as fascinating as his singular career.

Kara and Barry discuss his life, his family, his approach to business, and his take on Trump and how to beat him.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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Few people have as much knowledge of the MAGAsphere as Jordan Klepper, co-host and correspondent for The Daily Show. Klepper has been covering President Trump and his supporters since the 2016 presidential campaign, from rallies across the country to the steps of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. One difference that he — and others — have noted between Trump 1.0 and 2.0 is the growing number of young people, especially young men, who are now in the Republican fold. Kara talks to Klepper about his upcoming special, The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation, and what he learned about young conservatives on his tour of college campuses, UFC events, and Spring Break beaches. They discuss "manosphere" influencers such as Charlie Kirk, Andrew Tate, and Joe Rogan, which progressive voices (like Hasan Piker) might break through, and whether Hollywood and comedy are veering to the right.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, joins Kara to unpack current and potential conflicts — from simmering tension between India and Pakistan to escalating violence in Gaza, attempts to forge a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and rising concerns over Taiwan. They also examine how President Trump’s trade wars are reshaping global diplomacy and the rules of international engagement.

Plus, Kara and Christiane discuss Amanpour's new podcast, The Ex Files, which she co-hosts with her ex-husband Jamie Rubin, and how journalism is evolving amid partisanship, social media, and endless attacks on the press.

This episode was recorded on Wednesday May 7th, before India and Pakistan signed a cease-fire and The White House announced a trade deal with China.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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The first few months of President Trump’s second term have been chaotic, to say the least. There have been an unprecedented number of executive actions that have triggered an equally impressive number lawsuits; a new government “department,” headed by the world's richest man and launched via executive order, that ousted nearly a quarter of a million government workers; and a global trade war.

Trump and his cabinet have been crowing about these achievements, but his approval ratings for the first 100 days are abysmal — tied for last place, with himself. Kara speaks to three Washington insiders about what this all means for the next 100 days, whether we'll see rollbacks or more full steam ahead, what role Congress will play, and what the potential long-term fallout could be. Our guests are:

Carol Leonnig, an investigative reporter at The Washington Post. She’s written three best-selling books, including two she co-authored about the first Trump presidency: A Very Stable Genius and I Alone Can Fix It.

Ashley Parker, a staff writer at The Atlantic. Previously, Ashley spent eight years at The Washington Post, where she covered Trump’s first presidency, President Biden’s first two years in office, and the 2024 presidential campaign.

Ben Terris, a Washington correspondent for New York Magazine. He is the author of The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind and a former feature reporter covering national politics for The Washington Post.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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Governor Wes Moore of Maryland was elected less than three years ago, but he’s already on the shortlist of potential Democratic presidential candidates for 2028. In 2022, the former combat veteran, investment banker and nonprofit CEO became just the third Black person ever elected governor in the United States. 

But with a large port and one in ten workers on the federal payroll, Maryland is particularly vulnerable to DOGE cuts and President Trump’s trade war. Plus, the state just had to raise taxes and cut $2 billion in spending to close a $3 billion budget deficit.

Kara and Gov. Moore and Kara discuss how this approach to Trump has evolved, whether he’ll run in 2028 (like George Clooney and many others seem to want him to), his advice to the Democratic Party, and how Maryland’s latest tax reform and budget cuts could be a “roadmap” for the rest of the country.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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In 2014, when Lisa Su took over as CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, AMD was on the verge of bankruptcy. Su bet hard on hardware and not only pulled the semiconductor company back from the brink, but also led it to surpass its historical rival, Intel, in market cap. Since the launch of ChatGPT made high-powered chips like AMDs “sexy” again, demand for chips has intensified exponentially, but so has the public spotlight on the industry — including from the federal government. 

In a live conversation, at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, as part of their inaugural Discovery Series, Kara talks to Su about her strategy in face of the Trump administration’s tariff and export control threats, how to safeguard the US in the global AI race, and what she says when male tech leaders brag about the size of their GPUs.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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Ed Helms is best known for playing Andy Bernard in The Office and Stu in The Hangover trilogy. But the comedic actor is also the politically engaged, banjo-playing, podcast-hosting, TV series–producing author of a new book titled, SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups. 

Kara and Ed discuss domestic politics and satire's role during Trump 2.0; government overreach and history’s tendency to repeat itself; his podcast SNAFU with Ed Helms and the eponymous book; and the entertainment industry’s evolving economics.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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Philosopher and critical theorist Judith Butler, Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School at UC Berkeley, has been at the forefront of gender theory for 35 years. But while their work Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, which helped establish the idea of gender as a social construct in the 1990s, was lauded by the LGBTQIA+ community for opening the doors to queer theory, they’ve been vilified by those on the right for whom gender theory is a threat to “tradition.” 

Kara and Judith talk about their latest book, Who’s Afraid of Gender, which analyses the growing attacks on gender and gender theory around the world; how Trump’s executive order redefining sex as binary impacts everything from personal rights to medical research; and why recent attacks on the independence of universities could have a chilling effect on academic freedom in the long term. 

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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