About this podcast
Every Friday media reporter Max Tani and Semafor Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith pull back the curtain on the most important stories about media, revealing why you see and hear what you see and hear.
Mixed Signals from Semafor Media is supported by Think with Google.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 128 episodes
- Nate Silver on the potential "blue wave," why Republicans are seeing lower favorability, and whether AI could replace him · 58 minSilver Bulletin founder Nate Silver joins Mixed Signals days before the midterms to explain why Democrats are surging in the polls. Max and Ben ask Nate why Republican internal…
- Google’s Josh Spanier on the CMO armageddon that never came, and why AI is at “the end of the beginning · 26 minGoogle VP of marketing and Frontier CMO podcast host Josh Spanier joins Ben in Mountain View to talk about the state of marketing today, and why the predicted CMO armageddon for…
- Kevin Roose on the singularity and his council of Claudes · 1 h 0 minNew York Times veteran and "AGI Chronicles" author Kevin Roose joins Mixed Signals to talk about what it was like to be patient zero for the AI media moment (a Valentine's Day…
- Alex Gibney on his Elon Musk documentary and why the doc business has never been more scared · 49 minDocumentary filmmaker Alex Gibney joins Mixed Signals to talk about his four-hour film on Elon Musk. Max and Ben ask Gibney how he built an AI avatar of Musk using only his…
- Kasey Esser on being the "Brad Pitt of microdramas" and what's next for the booming vertical video format · 39 minActor and producer Kasey Esser joins Mixed Signals to explain the multi-billion dollar "microdrama" industry, and why he's become one of its biggest stars. Max and Ben ask Kasey…
- Liquid Death CEO Mike Cessario on selling water like a punk band, and why comedy is the one thing Coca-Cola can't buy · 51 minLiquid Death founder and CEO Mike Cessario joins Mixed Signals (with Semafor business editor Liz Hoffman filling in for Max) to explain how he built a billion-dollar water…
- Pangram CEO Max Spero on why human touch is about to become the scarcest thing on the internet · 49 minPangram founder and CEO Max Spero joins Mixed Signals to explain how his AI detection tool actually works, and why he thinks the escalating cat-and-mouse game between AI…
- Salman Rushdie on what he's learned about media after a lifetime of being trapped by it · 42 minAuthor Sir Salman Rushdie joins Mixed Signals to talk about why he made a documentary about the attack that nearly killed him, and why he's ambivalent about having done it. Max…
- Jessica Tarlov on being the lone Democrat at Fox, what she knows about Pete Hegseth, and why she defends her conservative colleagues · 56 minJessica Tarlov is the co-host of both Fox News' The Five and the Raging Moderates podcast. She joins Mixed Signals to talk about what it's like to be outnumbered four-to-one on…
- Taylor Lorenz on the moral panic around kids and phones, and how she logs 17 hours of screen time · 38 minInternet reporter and YouTuber Taylor Lorenz joins Mixed Signals to make the case that the bipartisan push to get kids off social media is less about child safety than it looks…
- Social media consultant Rachel Karten on the death of the follower, micro-dramas, and being “algorithmically ungovernable” · 47 minSocial media consultant and “Link in Bio” newsletter author Rachel Karten joins Mixed Signals to explain what social media actually is in 2026. Max and Ben ask Rachel how the…
- Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl on AI, streaming power, and why music royalties are the safest asset on Wall Street · 1 h 3 minWarner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl joins Mixed Signals — with Semafor business editor Liz Hoffman filling in for Ben — to explain what a record label actually does in a world…
- Kareem Rahma on building a talk show empire and the business behind his viral shows · 1 h 10 minSubway Takes creator and host Kareem Rahma joins Mixed Signals to talk about reinventing the talk show for the vertical video era, and just how much it costs. Max and Ben ask…
- Vic Jacobi on building trust in NBA circles and the business of knowing everybody · 38 minNBA personality and creative consultant Vic Jacobi joins Mixed Signals to talk about how she built one of the more unusual careers in sports media — starting from a Kobe Bryant…
- From WIRED's Uncanny Valley: Tim Heidecker Thinks Twitter Should Be a World Heritage Site · 41 minThe satirical news publication The Onion is trying to take over Infowars, formerly owned by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and planning to put comedian Tim Heidecker…
- Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is more worried about your phone than your body · 1 h 1 minFormer US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy joins Mixed Signals to make the case that America's loneliness crisis is a public health emergency — and that social media is a bigger…
- Steve Hilton on the Murdochs, David Ellison, and conservative media’s California · 50 minSteve Hilton has lived many lives: a key strategist to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, a populist Fox News host, and — after renouncing his UK citizenship — the…
- Katie Nolan on the sports gambling takeover, covering politics, and the slow return of the boys' club · 35 minSports media host and "Casuals" podcast creator Katie Nolan joined Mixed Signals live at Cannes to talk about navigating two decades of upheaval in sports media. Max and Ben ask…
- Reddit CEO Steve Huffman on LLMs, fighting the bots, and why it’s good that you can't get famous on Reddit · 44 minReddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman joins Mixed Signals during the platform's 21st birthday to talk about what it means to be the internet's anti-social media hub. Max and…
- Alex Cooper on flipping "Call Her Daddy" into a media business and entering the creative agency space · 41 minCall Her Daddy host and Unwell co-founder Alex Cooper joins Mixed Signals live at Cannes Lions to talk about what it takes to turn a hit podcast into a real media business. Max…
