Hard Fork

Should We Worry As Billionaires Buy Up Newspapers?


Listen Later

Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, says we should — and he’s one of those billionaires. In 2018, Soon-Shiong — who minted his fortune by inventing a cancer drug in the 1990s — scooped up the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune and a group of smaller newspapers for a cool $500 million. Since then, he’s been obsessed with two things: modernizing his media empire and continuing his medical pursuits, most recently with an experimental Covid-19 vaccine.
In this conversation, Soon-Shiong and Kara Swisher discuss why he bought the L.A. Times, his plans for it and why he didn’t do more to save other local papers from the jaws of a newsroom-slashing hedge fund. They also delve into his medical background, his take on how the Covid-19 pandemic will become endemic in unvaccinated communities and the job he says he passed up in the Trump administration.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more information for all episodes at nytimes.com/sway, and you can find Kara on Twitter @karaswisher.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Hard ForkBy The New York Times

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

5,215 ratings


More shows like Hard Fork

View all
Modern Love by The New York Times

Modern Love

8,840 Listeners

The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,878 Listeners

Explain It to Me by Vox

Explain It to Me

7,859 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,745 Listeners

Popcast by The New York Times

Popcast

1,506 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,517 Listeners

The Vergecast by The Verge

The Vergecast

3,697 Listeners

Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

Decoder with Nilay Patel

3,152 Listeners

The Run-Up by The New York Times

The Run-Up

2,068 Listeners

Inside The Times by The New York Times

Inside The Times

144 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,734 Listeners

Today, Explained by Vox

Today, Explained

10,271 Listeners

Change Agent by The New York Times

Change Agent

1,513 Listeners

Caliphate by The New York Times

Caliphate

12,634 Listeners

Charm City by The New York Times

Charm City

307 Listeners

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

7,165 Listeners

The Latest by The New York Times

The Latest

468 Listeners

The Candidates by The New York Times

The Candidates

51 Listeners

Jungle Prince by The New York Times

Jungle Prince

2,319 Listeners

The Choice by New York Times Opinion

The Choice

380 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,526 Listeners

Rabbit Hole by The New York Times

Rabbit Hole

6,683 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,053 Listeners

Day X by The New York Times

Day X

1,500 Listeners

Search Engine by PJ Vogt

Search Engine

4,463 Listeners

The Interview by The New York Times

The Interview

1,570 Listeners

On with Kara Swisher by Vox Media

On with Kara Swisher

3,455 Listeners

The Wirecutter Show by The New York Times

The Wirecutter Show

1,147 Listeners

The Run-Up (2016) by The New York Times

The Run-Up (2016)

11 Listeners

The Opinions by The New York Times Opinion

The Opinions

558 Listeners

The Argument by New York Times Opinion

The Argument

23 Listeners

The Run-Up Guide to 2024 by The New York Times

The Run-Up Guide to 2024

0 Listeners