Louis Theroux Goes Inside the Manosphere. It’s Worse Than You Think.

Louis Theroux joins Kara to discuss his new Netflix documentary, "Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere." The film explores the online world of male influencers selling fitness, wealth and self-improvement through ultra-masculine and misogynistic ideologies. Louis focuses on the extreme fringes of the manosphere, where racist, homophobic and antisemitic rhetoric mixes with conspiracy theories – and his depiction of these influencers manages to be both hilarious and nerve-racking at the same time.  Kara and Louis break down how the manosphere economy works, why so much of the content targets teenage boys and how tech platforms amplify it. They also examine the loneliness and economic frustration that can make young men susceptible to these messages, and why ideas that once lived on the fringe are increasingly moving into the mainstream. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since announcing his decision to retire last year, North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has become a kind of thorn in MAGA’s side, holding up appointments and voicing criticisms about legislation favored by President Trump. But his resistance raises a perennial question about Republicans in the Trump era: Why do lawmakers only push back when they’re on the way out? Kara and Sen. Tillis talk about his concerns over the Trump administration’s handling of the war in Iran; why he thinks newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin will be an improvement over his predecessor, Kristi Noem; and why Tillis aims his criticisms at Trump’s advisers rather than Trump himself. They also talk about his worries about the upcoming midterms and where he thinks the party is headed after Trump leaves office.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tristan Harris, a technology ethicist and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, studies how the tech industry’s platforms have become extractive and controlling. Kara first interviewed him in 2017, and after he was featured in the 2020 Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma,” his profile shot through the roof. Now he's featured in a new film called, "The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist," which explores the promises and existential risks of AI.  Tristan joins Kara to discuss how the current AI arms race is driven by the wrong incentives, and why that's leading us towards an "anti-human" future. He argues that the benefits and breakthroughs promised by AI are inseparable from profound risks, and calls for public pressure, regulation and global coordination to build a humane future with AI before it's too late. You can find out more about the work Tristan and the Center for Humane Technology are doing at The Human Movement. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While the Department of Homeland Security publicly claims to be resetting its tactics around immigration arrests, it's been building out its capacity to house detained migrants by buying up almost a dozen warehouses. If opened, they would dramatically expand a system that’s seen more than 40 deaths since Trump took office and is facing staggering accounts of human rights abuses. Kara speaks with three experts who’ve been tracking the Trump administration’s detention boom: Ximena Bustillo, Homeland Security Department and immigration policy correspondent for NPR; Austin Kocher, a political and legal geographer and a research assistant professor at the Syracuse University who tracks immigration enforcement data on his Substack; and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a lawyer and senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Raising money off frothy numbers to sugarcoat the rotten apple is what built this town.” That’s according to Duncan Park, the protagonist of "The Audacity," a new dark comedy from AMC about tech CEOs and their relationships with their families, therapists and enablers. Live from SXSW, Kara spoke with executive producer and showrunner Jonathan Glatzer ("Succession," "Bad Sisters," "Better Call Saul"), star Billy Magnussen, and executive producer Gina Mingacci ("Killing Eve," "Orphan Black"). The series follows Duncan, an ambitious, arrogant data-mining CEO determined to join Silicon Valley’s billionaire elite, and holds up a mirror to the greed and ego shaping modern tech culture. They discuss how tech’s obsession with disruption and data has come at the cost of privacy and real human connection. While "The Audacity" is a sharp satire, it also finds surprising humanity in even the most unlikable tech bros — and even made Kara feel empathy for them, despite her best intentions. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Gang of Eight, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is among the select few members of Congress who get to sit in on top intelligence briefings. But with the war in Iran now in its third week, Warner says the administration still hasn’t presented any plans to meet President Trump’s demands for the regime’s “unconditional surrender.”  Kara and Sen. Warner talk about what he’s hearing from the administration about its timeline for the war, why the regime is unlikely to fall anytime soon, and why he thinks an unstable Iran could pose more of a risk to U.S. interests. They also talk about the risks the already unpopular war could pose if it drags on longer than the administration anticipates.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara sits down with Matthew Belloni, author of the flagship Puck newsletter What I’m Hearing and host of The Town podcast, to take the entertainment industry’s temperature just a few days before the Academy Awards. They dig into the Warner Bros. Discovery/Paramount/Netflix saga and the consequences of the Ellison-backed deal for creatives and crews. Then Kara and Matt debate whether consolidation can fix Hollywood’s broken economics and why legacy companies are facing a “Titanic-esque” moment as linear TV collapses. They also unpack the streaming wars, Netflix’s next moves, Disney’s succession questions and how AI could reshape filmmaking from visual effects to writers’ rooms. Plus, they make their predictions for the Oscars. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been more than a month since the Justice Department released the latest tranche of files related to its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein — around 3 million in total — yet the fallout shows no sign of slowing down.  The release almost certainly wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for survivors who fought for transparency and accountability. In this episode, Kara sits down with three women who're still in that fight: Dani Bensky, Jess Michaels and Liz Stein. Kara,  Dani, Jess and Liz talk about how Epstein’s survivors came together after decades of being siloed, who’s helping them in their fight for justice, and who’s standing in the way. They also talk about what the files reveal about the “Epstein Class” and what they says about how power works in this country.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Friction gets an bad rap, according Jennifer Vail. As a tribologist, she studies interacting surfaces in relative motion, and she’s worked on everything from aerospace materials to syringes to dog food. Her new book, Friction: A Biography, explores the science of rubbing surfaces, the history of lubrication, and why “frictionless” is a dangerous fantasy.  Kara and Jennifer unpack everything from Roman chariot “pit stops” to ball bearings and how tiny tweaks in texture and lubricant chemistry can save massive amounts of energy. They end with a discussion of behavioral friction (the kind tech companies want to get rid of) and Kara makes the case for “good friction” in tech, work, and relationships.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the current front runner on the list of Democrats eyeing a 2028 White House run. While he hasn’t made his presidential ambitions official, he has a new memoir out, called “Young Man in A Hurry.” And his book tour conveniently has him passing through a lot of swing states and early primary states.  In a live interview recorded at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theater on Saturday, Feb. 28, Kara and Gov. Newsom talk about his life growing up in the Bay Area, how he straddled the worlds of the working class and the ultra wealthy, and his early days in San Francisco politics. They also talk about his final year as governor, and what he’s planning to do next. And Kara wraps up by asking Newsom about recent news items, including the continuing fallout around the Epstein files and war with Iran. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices