'Substack isn’t cool,' gatekeepers are, and other strong opinions from tastemaker Chris Black
Chris Black has gone from managing a pop-punk band to becoming a fashion-world insider, podcast host, and brand consultant for labels like J. Crew and Thom Browne. This week, Ben and Max bring on the How Long Gone co-host to talk about building a cult hit podcast, the surprising comeback of media gatekeepers in 2025, and why he still believes in the power of institutions – including a high-production video version of How Long Gone. Also: his thoughts on Substack fatigue — and what it was like to interview the guitarist of the Smiths.
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If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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53:33
Clay Travis on mixing sports and politics, his ‘pudding strike,’ and the billion-dollar bet on sports gambling
Clay Travis started his career with a stunt on his blog involving a pudding strike and NFL streaming rights. From roots in new media, he founded OutKick, a conservative sports and politics site that Fox Corp acquired in 2021. This week, Ben and Max bring on the outspoken media entrepreneur to discuss how sports and conservative politics have become intertwined, how gambling and sports media became intertwined, and how to attract an audience of men. They also ask about his current role as a Fox News personality and his 11 interviews with Donald Trump. Plus, he and Max duke it out over the NBA’s ratings.
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For more from Think with Google, check out the article called “How well do you know Google Search?” on ThinkwithGoogle.com
Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani
If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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57:09
Jen Psaki on her journey from politics to cable, what the Trump White House is doing right — and whether there was a Biden cover-up
Jen Psaki has gone from being a behind-the-scenes political staffer, to running the White House briefing room under President Joe Biden, to now hosting a primetime show on MSNBC. This week, Ben and Max bring on the former press secretary to talk about what it means to be a cable news host in 2025, how podcasts are changing how TV works, and what she thinks of the current administration’s press tactics. They also ask about the 2024 race — and what she makes of the idea that there was a cover-up of Biden’s health.
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For more from Think with Google, check out the article called “How well do you know Google Search?” on ThinkwithGoogle.com
Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani
If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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43:55
Ezra Klein on Trump, Sanity, and Podcasting
Ezra Klein is on a book tour — you may have heard his voice on some of your other favorite podcasts talking about Abundance. Today, Ben and Max also talk to The New York Times columnist and host… but you won’t hear anything about the book (so you’ll just have to buy it). Instead, they ask Ezra what he’s learned about the media and podcasting through this latest tour, how the “abundance” framework might apply to media, and if Trump will go after the press next. They also discuss how he’s become a rare media celebrity for liberals, why his fans feel saner listening to him — and how that may not be a good thing.
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For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com.
Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani
If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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48:28
Zeitgeist Genius Tina Brown on Meghan Markle, Vanity Fair and Whether We Still Need Editors
Tina Brown has shaped the culture and captured the zeitgeist since she reinvented Vanity Fair and The New Yorker in the 1980s and 1990s. But now, she’s moved onto the digital media space with her Substack, Fresh Hell. This week, Ben and Max talk to the magazine icon about what she makes of the state of print media today, if we still need editors in a world filled with influencers, and what she thinks the future holds for her former employer, Condé Nast. They also talk about her gripes with our current “uncouth” culture, how we’ve all become “scavengers of info,” and the stories she would assign today if she could.
Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media
For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com.
Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani
If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com
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.
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