On with Kara Swisher

Which subpar books actually warrant writing a bad review? Do best sellers usually live up to the hype? And how does our relationship with technology affect the publishing industry? Kara sits down with two of her favorite book critics, Dwight Garner of The New York Times and Becca Rothfeld of The Washington Post, to discuss the best and worst books of 2024.  The trio debates standout books and notable disappointments, the craft of book reviewing, and the best way to experience a great book. They also explore the importance of best-seller lists, how concerned we should be over the rising tide of book censorship, and which books from 2024 could end up becoming forever classics. Books mentioned includes (listed alphabetically): What Are Children For? On Ambivalence and Choice, Anastasia Berg & Rachel Wiseman Boswell’s London Journal 1762-1763 Believe Nothing Until it is Officially Denied: Claud Cockburn and the Invention of Guerrilla Journalism, Patrick Cockburn D'Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths Carson McCullers: A Life, Mary V. Dearborn You Dreamed of Empires, Álvaro Enrigue James, Percival Everett When the Clock Broke, John Ganz The Upstairs Delicatessen, Dwight Garner Small Rain, Garth Greenwell Lesser Ruins, Mark Haber Alphabetical Diaries, Sheila Heti A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman, Robert Hilburn Splinters, Leslie Jamison Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones Creation Lake, Rachel Kushner Liars, Sarah Manguso We Who Wrestle With God, Jordan B. Peterson Intermezzo, Sally Rooney The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World, Christine Rosen Things Are Too Small, Essays in Praise of Excess, Becca Rothfeld Knife, Salman Rushdie I Heard Her Call My Name, Lucy Sante The Rebel’s Clinic, Adam Schatz The Politics of Cultural Despair, Fritz Stern Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara sits down for a live interview with Yann LeCun, an “early AI prophet” and the brains behind the largest open-source large language model in the world. The two discuss the potential dangers that come with open-source models, the massive amounts of money pouring into AI research, and the pros and cons of AI regulation. They also dive into LeCun’s surprisingly spicy social media feeds — unlike a lot of tech employees who toe the HR line, Yann isn’t afraid to say what he thinks of Elon Musk or President-elect Donald Trump. This interview was recorded live at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC as part of their Discovery Series. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RFK Jr. was on the Hill, on Monday, working to persuade senators he’s capable of running the  Department of Health and Human Services and its almost $2 trillion budget. Ever since the news his lawyer has petitioned the federal government to revoke the approval of a polio vaccine broke, that job has gotten a little harder — but it doesn’t mean he won’t get confirmed. And so could a number of other highly unorthodox candidates that Trump plans to nominate for key positions in the HHS. Kara talks to an expert panel to make sense of it all and find these nominations could means for America’s public health policy.  Her guests are: Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Dr. Celine Gounder, and Donald McNeil Jr.  Dr. Emanuel has written and edited 15 books and over 300 scientific articles. He was Chief of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act and he teaches at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Celine Gounder is an internist, infectious disease specialist, and epidemiologist, a CBS News Medical Contributor and Editor-at-Large for Public Health at KFF Health News, and she teaches at New York University. Donald McNeil wrote for the New York Times from 1976 to 2021, where he was a health and science reporter and the lead reporter the COVID beat. He won the prestigious John Chancellor Award in 2020 and was on the New York Times team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2021. You can find his latest work on Medium. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canadian chef Matty Matheson has been a force in the culinary world for over two decades, but the non-foodies of the world recognize him as Neil Fak, the goofy, handyman-come-waiter-in-training on the FX/Hulu hit series The Bear. Aside from being the show’s much-needed comic relief, Matheson is an executive producer and a culinary consultant on set. Matheson first became chef de cuisine in his early 20s and now owns over a dozen restaurants. He also runs an incredibly popular YouTube channel with over 1.5 million subscribers and he’s authored three cookbooks – his latest, Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, came out in October. Kara and Matty talk about the good, bad and ugly of the restaurant industry, why he loves both haute cuisine and homestyle cooking and how his YouTube persona changes when he puts on his chef’s hat. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices