WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Kara Swisher is everywhere.
She’s filling in for on ABC’s 鈥淭he View.鈥� Appearing alongside in 鈥淭he Devil Wears Prada 2.鈥� Starring in a . Preparing a national tour. And churning out four podcasts most weeks featuring long-form interviews and commentary.
It’s a ubiquity born of more than three decades chronicling with a professed indifference to power that vaulted her into a rare echelon of journalism celebrity.
She harnessed that reputation to persuade rivals and to appear onstage together and make so uncomfortable under questioning that he broke out into a sweat. She had cellphone number 鈥� the two aren’t currently speaking 鈥� and often texts tech and business leaders.
She’s betting the influence that made her a Silicon Valley force will translate into politics as podcasts supplant traditional media as a destination for candidates seeking attention.
During President Donald Trump’s second Republican term, potential Democratic presidential candidates ranging from California Gov. and former Vice President to onetime Transportation Secretary and former White House chief of staff have appeared on Swisher’s shows. She expects that roster to grow.
鈥淲e get called by all the presidential candidates,鈥� the 63-year-old Swisher said in an interview at her home in a leafy corner of Washington, where her trademark high self-regard was on display. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get to all of them.鈥�
Swisher is hardly the only podcaster talking politics. Conservatives like and and some liberals like the former aides who host 鈥淧od Save America鈥� have larger audiences. They’re all dwarfed by .
But Swisher, who has evolved from a traditional print journalist to business owner and podcast host, has few rivals who can match her technology expertise and connect those observations to the broader political debate.
鈥淲hen I first went on her podcast when I just got into Congress in 2017, she was very well respected in tech circles,鈥� said Rep. , a California Democrat whose district includes Silicon Valley. 鈥淏ut now she’s emerged as a larger cultural force, especially at a time where there’s such anger at the tech billionaires and tech arrogance.鈥�
Interviews that produce revealing moments
When she’s not on the road, Swisher typically records from a basement studio in the Washington home she shares with her wife, children and a cat named Lovely. The conversations on her interview podcast 鈥淥n with Kara Swisher鈥� are often referenced later on 鈥淧ivot,鈥� which she co-hosts with entrepreneur Scott Galloway.
They frequently produce revealing moments, as when 太子探花om filled in for Galloway on 鈥淧ivot.鈥� Swisher derided him for being too easy on when the longtime Trump aide appeared on 太子探花om’s own podcast.
鈥淵ou had an opportunity to engage,鈥� Swisher pressed. 鈥淲hy not engage?鈥�
The typically self-possessed 太子探花om conceded, 鈥淚’m not the pro that some of these others are, but I appreciate the insight.鈥�
Swisher pushed Buttigieg on why he took so long to say President , a fellow Democrat, shouldn’t have sought reelection. Buttigieg said he wasn’t consulted.
鈥淪ure, but you have eyes,鈥� Swisher responded.
Her interview with Harris captured the former vice president’s tenacious side as she called policies from Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary, , 鈥渇—– up.鈥� Harris said gravely that she 鈥渃an’t laugh鈥� about such matters, though Swisher noted on a later podcast that the two had just joked about Kennedy backstage.
鈥淏e the person backstage because that’s the person who gave a great answer,鈥� Swisher said in the later podcast.
In an interview, 太子探花om said Swisher 鈥渃alls out my bulls鈥�-.鈥�
鈥淪he’ll send me missives unsolicited,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he’s usually right, and it drives me crazy.鈥�
Sen. , a Virginia Democrat who has long known Swisher, agreed that being interviewed by Swisher is 鈥渘ot a layup.鈥�
Even Sen. of North Carolina, a rare Republican to go on her show, said it was a worthwhile experience despite being pressed on whether his willingness to speak out against the Trump White House emerged only after he opted against reelection.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a politician, you should be able to walk up anywhere and hold your own,鈥� Tillis said. 鈥淒o the prep, get on the show. You may end up having an opportunity, like in my experience, to give a completely different perspective.鈥�
鈥楶ivot鈥� was initially focused on tech and business
Shaping the political conversation wasn’t the objective when 鈥淧ivot鈥� launched in 2018.
Galloway, who hosts his own 鈥淧rof G鈥� and 鈥淩aging Moderates鈥� podcasts, recalled the idea for 鈥淧ivot鈥� was to focus on the intersection of technology and business. That’s still much of the show’s focus, but the biggest stories in those spaces, such as for Musk’s SpaceX or the rise of , are now inevitably linked to politics.
鈥淪how me a big business or tech story, and I’m going to show you a political overlay,鈥� Galloway said.
The expansion converges with a sense of urgency among Democrats to be more aggressive on digital platforms, where audiences are increasingly concentrated.
鈥淭he single most important quality that every candidate needs to have is the ability to talk and the ability to talk anywhere,鈥� said Teddy Goff, the co-founder of Precision Strategies and the digital director for Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign. 鈥淭hat might mean a two-hour podcast interview. It might mean a 15-second digital video.鈥�
Democrats are still stung by Rogan’s nearly three-hour Trump interview in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign. Rogan who doesn’t consider himself a journalist, has said Harris’ campaign didn’t agree to his terms. Harris has described being spurned by Rogan.
Swisher agreed Democrats should embrace podcasts but insisted she’s not a left-leaning counter to Rogan.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 manufacture this stuff,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t just doesn鈥檛 work, right? The kids like what the kids like.鈥�
Still, the podcasts add up to influence and financial success.
Galloway said 鈥淧ivot,鈥� which is effectively a joint venture between himself, Swisher and Vox Media, will be a $15 million to $20 million business this year. With a staff of just five, that’s a robust moneymaker as media is disrupted by a wave of mergers and acquisitions.
Vox Media itself has been reborn after a recent acquisition by , who swept New York magazine, the Vox Media Podcast Network and the Vox editorial brand into a single company where podcasts are the fastest-growing business.
鈥淧odcasts are the NBA,鈥� Galloway said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a small amount of people making a lot of money.鈥�
A goal to be popular 鈥榓mong the entire populace鈥�
While Swisher largely hosts Democrats, she’s recently interviewed Tillis and Scott Jennings, a conservative CNN commentator. She hopes to soon bring on additional Republicans and said she texted Steve Hilton’s wife, a former Google executive, in hopes of booking him shortly after he advanced in California’s governor’s race.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e going for is to be popular among the entire populace,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o that people who don鈥檛 feel they want to be in a constant state of anger, whether it鈥檚 on the left or the right, can have a place to go.鈥�
But her barbed comments about Trump and other Republicans could complicate that goal.
Kelly McBride, an ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, said shows like Swisher鈥檚 can sometimes 鈥渂utt right up against the type of podcasts that I would not consider journalism.鈥�
鈥淭he way you separate them out is that the intention and the system surrounding the podcast is engineered in a way to create fact-based information,鈥� she said.
Swisher describes her work as 鈥渞eported analysis,鈥� citing tech writer Om Malik, who died last week, as an inspiration.
As for the tone of the podcasts, it’s all part of the authenticity that is central to Swisher’s brand. Beyond the takes on the day鈥檚 news, she and Galloway have developed a strong 鈥� if unlikely 鈥� chemistry in which his penchant for vulgarities can make her seem almost highbrow.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 shy away from our faults,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 shy away from our biases. You know, we don鈥檛 shy away from things that most people try to.鈥�
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