Mixed Signals from Semafor Media Podcast
1) GQ Editor Will Welch on masculinity, celebrities, and staying cool as he ages
Will Welch is the Global Director of GQ, and has been the editor-in-chief of its US operation since 2019. On this week’s Mixed Signals, Welch talks to Ben and Max about how the magazine plans to addre...Show More
2) Ken Burns on the future of PBS, the new age of media, and why documentaries will outlast TikTok
Ken Burns has been telling the story of America through his entire career with genre-defining documentaries on the Civil War, the Vietnam War, and now the American Revolution. This week, Ben and Max b...Show More
3) The inside story of Sydney Sweeney's 'Great Jeans' — and why American Eagle ignored crisis comms
American Eagle’s summer campaign with Sydney Sweeney blew up in ways no one could’ve imagined – but chief marketing officer, Craig Brommers, knew they were going to hit a cultural nerve. This week, Be...Show More
4) Governor JB Pritzker on Chicago, ICE, and the information war with Trump’s White House
Chicago is either a war zone quickly spiraling out of control, or a peaceful city under siege by an overreaching federal government. It all depends on who you ask — and which channel they watch. This ...Show More
5) Alison Roman on cookbooks, food influencers, and the surprising way AI is changing her recipes
Alison Roman was one of digital media’s first food stars – she’s had recipes go viral since 2018 and an infamous ‘cancellation’ in 2020. Now, with her latest cookbook, Something From Nothing, she’s tr...Show More
6) Blackbird Spyplane’s Jonah Weiner on Substack, resisting selling out, and Obama’s pants legacy
Blackbird Spyplane, a style and culture newsletter, launched in 2020 as one of the early adopters and success stories on Substack. This week, Ben and Max bring on co-author and longtime magazine journ...Show More
7) Can MS survive without NBC? Inside CEO Mark Lazarus’ efforts to save cable’s great brands
MSNBC and 10 other television channels, from CNBC to Golf Channel, are splitting from NBC over the next several weeks to form a new digital-focused, publicly traded company called Versant. In his firs...Show More
8) Malcolm Gladwell’s theories on podcasting, America, and Joe Rogan
Malcolm Gladwell is a man of many theories – he’s made a career of it through his books and podcasts through Pushkin Industries. This week, Ben and Max bring on the author and Revisionist History host...Show More
9) How AI is reshaping media, with Google’s VP of marketing, Josh Spanier
This week, a special episode featuring Josh Spanier, VP of marketing at Google, who you might recognize from our branded segments. In this sponsored episode, Ben asks Josh about how Google thinks abou...Show More
10) How to be elite in the age of populism, with the FT’s Roula Khalaf
The Financial Times is the paper for business and world leaders, and comes with a hefty subscription price of $45/month. But what does it mean to serve the elite in a growing age of populism, and what...Show More