Recode Decode

In this best-of episode, originally published in February 2019, Kara Swisher talks with Harvard Business School professor emerita Shoshana Zuboff about her book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. Zuboff talks about the way tech companies have eroded democracy, why she coined the term "surveillance capitalism," and what can

In this best-of episode, originally published in March 2018, Kara Swisher talks to sex and relationship therapist Esther Perel, the host of the podcast Where Should We Begin? Perel discusses her then-new book about infidelity, The State of Affairs, and how dating apps like Tinder discourage their users from pursuing committed relationships. This interview was recorded live in Austi

In this best-of episode, originally published in January 2018, Kara Swisher talks to Netflix's former chief talent officer Patty McCord about that company's famous "culture deck" and her book Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility. McCord recalls how CEO Reed Hastings convinced her to work at Netflix, the common mistakes companies make when hiring and firing, an

In this best-of episode, originally published in March 2018, Kara Swisher talks to former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci about his infamous 11-day stint in the Trump administration and why he believed Trump would win re-election. Scaramucci also talks about Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, the culture of backstabbing in Washington, and Trump's secret admirer

In these best-of interview excerpts — originally published in March 2016, August 2017, and March 2020 — Kara Swisher talks with venture capitalist and Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya. They discuss his time working at AOL and Facebook, the problems with corporate culture in Silicon Valley, and how the industry and office culture as a whole were shaken up by COVID-19. Fea

In this best-of episode originally published in January 2018, writer and comedian Sarah Cooper talks with Kara Swisher and Dick Costolo about why she left a career in the tech industry to become a stand-up comic. Cooper has made tech a central part of her comedy and has written a book based in part on her time at Yahoo and Google called 100 Tricks To Appear Smart in Meetings. The g

In this best-of episode originally published in October 2017, Recode's Kara Swisher talks to investor Ellen Pao about her book, Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change, which chronicled Pao’s 2015 court battle against her former employer, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. They discuss her unsuccessful gender discrimination lawsuit, how it paved the way for future whistle

In this best-of episode originally published in October 2016, Recode's Kara Swisher talks to the host of The Late Late Show, James Corden, about redesigning a talk show for the YouTube generation. He talks about the viral video hits that broke out from the show such as "Carpool Karaoke," his complicated relationship with technology, and why he hates it when people use the term "the

In this best-of episode, Recode's Kara Swisher talked to New York Times Magazine reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones about how COVID-19 magnified inequality in the US, and our historical failure to treat essential workers — from meat-packing plants to checkout counters to delivery drivers — with the respect and protection they deserve. Hannah-Jones, who created the 1619 Project at the

In this best-of episode, Recode's Kara Swisher talks to Rappler CEO Maria Ressa about doing investigative journalism in the Philippines, where social media has emboldened an autocratic president. Ressa — currently appealing a "cyber libel" conviction — explains why the Philippines was a cautionary tale for the United States, how Facebook's inaction on disinformation poisoned th