Mixed Signals from Semafor Media

Author Sir Salman Rushdie joins Mixed Signals to talk about why he made a documentary about the attack that nearly killed him, and why he's ambivalent about having done it. Max and Ben ask Salman how he and director Alex Gibney divided authorship of the film, and what he felt watching footage of the attack for the first time. They also get into what he's learned from decades of being both subject and strategist in his own media coverage, and why he's trying very hard to pretend AI doesn't exist.

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Jessica Tarlov is the co-host of both Fox News' The Five and the Raging Moderates podcast. She joins Mixed Signals to talk about what it's like to be outnumbered four-to-one on the most-watched show in cable news — and why she thinks most of her liberal friends are missing what's really happening there. Max and Ben ask Jessica how she navigates on-air conflict without making it personal, what she knew about Pete Hegseth before he became Defense Secretary, and why she finds herself defending her Fox colleagues to New York liberals almost as often as she defends Democrats on air.

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Internet reporter and YouTuber Taylor Lorenz joins Mixed Signals to make the case that the bipartisan push to get kids off social media is less about child safety than it looks. Max and Ben ask Taylor where the actual line is between moral panic and legitimate concern, why she thinks the academic consensus on social media and youth mental health is being drowned out, and her at times surprising anti-anti-AI stance.

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Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani

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Social media consultant and “Link in Bio” newsletter author Rachel Karten joins Mixed Signals to explain what social media actually is in 2026. Max and Ben ask Rachel how the shift from follower-based to algorithm-driven distribution broke the contract between platforms and creators, why brands are quietly building their own shows without telling anyone they’re behind them, and what the regulatory gap around paid content is actually doing to the feed.

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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

Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl joins Mixed Signals — with Semafor business editor Liz Hoffman filling in for Ben — to explain what a record label actually does in a world where anyone can upload a song to Spotify. Max and Liz ask Robert why Warner struck a deal with AI music company Suno while Sony and Universal are still suing it, how he thinks about the nuclear-weapons-style leverage labels hold over streaming platforms, and why he thinks Netflix is leaving a massive opportunity on the table by ignoring music.

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