The Onion’s Owner on Satire, Infowars, Defending Democracy & Trump

On with Kara Swisher

Last year, after pressure from activist investors, Jeff Lawson stepped down from his perch as CEO from Twilio, the cloud communications company he co-founded. But he didn’t spend any time twiddling his thumbs — that same spring, he bought the satirical news organization The Onion, and by the end of the year, they’d tried to buy Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction.

Jeff also stayed busy on the political front, continuing his work on DemocracyFirst, a political action committee he co-founded, in 2022, to support candidates committed to democracy.

So there was plenty to chew on when Kara interviewed Jeff last week at Democracy’s Information Dilemma, a symposium hosted by the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

They discuss the tech founder mindset; how Jeff is remaking The Onion; why political satire is more necessary than ever; why DEI — which Jeff championed as a CEO — can sometimes do more harm than good; and how to fight for democracy during Trump 2.0.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2025-04-07 59 min

Audio File Apple

Available Results

Generated results are saved to the knowledge database for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Quick Summary Summary Template Generatable

A concise first-pass summary for understanding the episode quickly.

Best for: Any episode, First-pass understanding

Needs transcript

Deep Knowledge Extract Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

A structured reusable extraction of ideas, methods, caveats, resources, claims, and quotes.

Best for: Long interviews, Expert conversations

Needs transcript

Business Ideas Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Business opportunities, strategy insights, and company-building lessons.

Best for: Founder podcasts, Business interviews

Needs transcript

Action Items Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Explicit actions, next steps, habits, recommendations, and things to avoid.

Best for: Productivity, Health

Needs transcript

Methods & Frameworks Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Repeatable methods, frameworks, mental models, processes, and systems.

Best for: Productivity episodes, Technical interviews

Needs transcript

Resources Mentioned Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Concrete books, tools, apps, websites, products, papers, people, and organizations.

Best for: Resource-heavy episodes, Interviews

Needs transcript

Quick Summary Summary Template Generatable

A concise first-pass summary for understanding the episode quickly.

Best for: Any episode, First-pass understanding

Needs transcript

Deep Summary Summary Template Generatable

A detailed readable summary organized by chapter or topic.

Best for: Long interviews, Educational podcasts

Needs transcript

Knowledge Blocks Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Reusable atomic knowledge units extracted from the episode.

Best for: Research, Learning

Needs transcript

Topic Map Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

A navigable map of subjects, topic flow, and suggested chapters.

Best for: Long episodes, Episodes without good chapters

Needs transcript

Quick Summary Summary Template Generatable

A concise first-pass summary for understanding the episode quickly.

Best for: Any episode, First-pass understanding

Needs transcript

Deep Summary Summary Template Generatable

A detailed readable summary organized by chapter or topic.

Best for: Long interviews, Educational podcasts

Needs transcript

Knowledge Blocks Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Reusable atomic knowledge units extracted from the episode.

Best for: Research, Learning

Needs transcript

Topic Map Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

A navigable map of subjects, topic flow, and suggested chapters.

Best for: Long episodes, Episodes without good chapters

Needs transcript

Health Tips Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Health, fitness, recovery, nutrition, supplement, and wellness advice or claims.

Best for: Health podcasts, Fitness podcasts

Needs transcript

Business Ideas Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Business opportunities, strategy insights, and company-building lessons.

Best for: Founder podcasts, Business interviews

Needs transcript

Book Recommendations Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Books and learning resources mentioned in the episode.

Best for: Interview podcasts, Education podcasts

Needs transcript

Methods & Frameworks Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Repeatable methods, frameworks, mental models, processes, and systems.

Best for: Productivity episodes, Technical interviews

Needs transcript

Risks and Caveats Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Risks, warnings, limitations, trade-offs, weak evidence, and uncertainties.

Best for: Health, Science

Needs transcript

Action Items Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Explicit actions, next steps, habits, recommendations, and things to avoid.

Best for: Productivity, Health

Needs transcript

Quotes and Claims Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Memorable quotes and important claims with source context.

Best for: Interviews, Debates

Needs transcript

Resources Mentioned Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

Concrete books, tools, apps, websites, products, papers, people, and organizations.

Best for: Resource-heavy episodes, Interviews

Needs transcript

Deep Knowledge Extract Knowledge Extraction Template Generatable

A structured reusable extraction of ideas, methods, caveats, resources, claims, and quotes.

Best for: Long interviews, Expert conversations

Needs transcript

Extract Knowledge

Pick what you want extracted first. Model, scope, and chapter options appear after a template is selected.

Generated results for public episodes are saved to the knowledge database so they can be reused and searched later.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.

Chapters

No chapters available.