Uber: hard to live with it, or without it. In this episode Kara grills CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on the company’s sky-high prices, high take rate, treatment of drivers/couriers, policies around safety and why oh why he is kind to his predecessor, Travis Kalanick. 

Before and after the interview, Kara and Nayeema make sense of the power and problems of Uber, and discuss Lesbians Who Tech (a conference — not in general). 

Note: Khosrowshahi discusses a 15% “take rate” in the United States, exclusive of commercial insurance expenses. Globally, the company reported a 29.3% “take rate” in Q2 of 2023 inclusive of these costs. 

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Democracy is challenged, at home and abroad, and at least some of this blame falls on “Big Tech.” Kara talks to Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist, and Deb Roy, the director of the MIT Center for Constructive Communication, about how we got here and what some potential solutions are. Stick around after the interview to hear Kara and Nayeema discuss the ethics of stapling bread to trees.

This episode was recorded live at the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute for Democracy’s Democracy 360 event on October 17th.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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Social media has been inundated with disinformation about the Israel-Hamas war — from a flood of graphic visual content, to unsubstantiated claims and opportunistic content generation (and monetization) by third parties to this conflict.

To make sense of this fog of war, we turn to a panel that brings together a reporter, a researcher and a former Facebook/Meta insider: Shayan Sardarizadeh is a senior disinformation journalist with the BBC, Renée DiResta is a research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, and Katie Harbath spent 10 years as the public policy director at Facebook. Together, they unpack how we got here – and how we might seek clarity in a moment fogged by intense emotion, unfolding information and immense complexity.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza 

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In the fog of war, we’re joined by CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour. She’s covered the Middle East for decades and brings her signature “truthful, not neutral” journalism to the tense battle that has unfolded in Israel and Gaza.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza 

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What are the most immediate, and potentially catastrophic, risks posed by AI? According to pioneering AI researcher, Dr. Fei-Fei Li, they include disinformation, polarization, biases, a loss of privacy and job losses that could lead to unrest. 

The Stanford computer scientist is a fierce advocate for the humane development of artificial intelligence and for increased diversity in the field. She and Kara discuss AI’s problems and possibilities, the need for increased public sector investment and her brief stint on Twitter’s board. 

Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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In a time of a divided House (and divided GOP) — not to mention polarized social media — how can you engage through disagreement? Abraham Lincoln may have some clues, as Steve Inskeep deduces. The journalist and host of NPR’s Morning Edition has a new book, “Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America,” which details the political life and legacy of Lincoln through the lens of disagreement and understands how the 16th president practiced politics skillfully in order to assemble a majority and navigate the country through The Civil War. Kara and Steve also imagine what Lincoln’s social media feed would look like, compare him to Donald Trump and Joe Biden and grapple with whether “objectivity” is the best north star for journalism today. 

Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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Today we’re replaying you a summer episode where Kara and Nayeema took a field trip to Martha Stewart’s 156-acre estate for an interview with the media mogul and O.G. influencer. On the menu for this conversation? The media maven’s early interest in tech, parties with Bill Gates (and the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy), doing Sports Illustrated at age 81, big ideas like “KMartha” or “MarthaAI,” and why nothing — not prison time nor the idea of aging — can stop the constant reinvention of Martha Stewart.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram/Threads. We’re @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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After Kara and Nayeema discuss the defenestration of Kevin McCarthy, we turn to podcaster and political savant Jon Lovett of Crooked Media fame. Kara and Jon share laughs as they talk about the podcast biz, unions, Trump and Biden’s chances in ‘24. 

This conversation was taped live at the Code Conference on September 28, 2023.

Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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After Kara and Nayeema discuss Dianne Feinstein’s death and her legacy as a leader, we turn to Kara's interview with Adam Kinzinger. The former Republican congressman has said he would only vote for Trump in one scenario: if his opponent were Satan.

Once a rising star in the Tea Party, Kinzinger is now a leading voice inside the GOP’s anti-Trump cohort. He was one of only ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after January 6, 2021 — and, like many of his peers, he paid a high price: his seat in Congress.

We discuss whether his political sacrifice was worth it, what happens in the “Trump Resistance” text chain and why so many Republicans won’t come out against Trump — even when they see him as a threat to democracy. 

This conversation was taped live at the Texas Tribune Festival on September 22, 2023. 

Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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On Wednesday, two Twitter-related interviews rocked the stage at the 2023 Code Conference. Kara interviewed the former head of trust and safety at Twitter/X, Yoel Roth, and Julia Boorstin, CNBC's Senior Media & Tech Correspondent, interviewed X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino. 

The late booking of Roth rattled Yaccarino, and her interview led to a media storm. Today, we bring you both interviews. We start off with Kara and Nayeema, as they set the stage early on Wednesday morning, play the interviews in chronological order and then rejoin Kara and Nayeema for a debrief to address accusations that the schedule change amounted to “sandbagging” Yaccarino. (Kara’s response: it does not).

Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

To join the waitlist for the 2024 Code Conference, visit https://voxmediaevents.com/code2024.

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