A Silicon Valley Satire That Feels Uncomfortably Close to Reality

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

Society & Culture

4.2 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"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 on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I never run into a banker that goes, what we're really here to do, Kara, is community through money.
0:06.1	Hi, everyone from New York. Hi, everyone, from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:23.1	This is on with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher.
0:26.3	My guest today are the executive producers and the star of The Audacity.
0:30.7	It's a dark comedy series from AMC that explores the lives of tech CEOs and their relationships with their families, therapists, and enablers.
0:39.1	The show follows Duncan Park, the ambitious, arrogant, and often delusional CEO of a data mining
0:44.3	company in Silicon Valley. He's a wannabe tech titan who's set on joining the billionaire ranks
0:49.9	of the Valley's powerful elite. And like real-life counterparts, his ego, greed, and insecurities
0:55.4	help push him towards his goal and also get in the way. Emmy Award winner Jonathan Glitzer
1:01.2	is the Audacity's executive producer and showrunner. He's also written and produced for
1:06.1	Succession, Bad Sisters, and Better Call Saul. Billy Magnuson stars in the series as Duncan Park, and the show is
1:14.2	executive produced by Gina Mingachi, whose credits include Killing Eve and Orphan Black. I interviewed
1:21.0	Jonathan, Billy, and Gina live last Sunday on the Box Media podcast stage at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. I was excited to talk to
1:30.2	them because this is a really good series. It's sort of the next version of Silicon Valley,
1:34.2	which I was an advisor to, but it's a lot darker and a lot more realistic about the mania of
1:40.0	these people and the damage they do. In this case, instead of adorable people, the principles
1:45.6	in this series are more villainous, and I think that's appropriate for the time. And a quick
1:51.2	note before we get into it, I have a new series from CNN called Kara Swisher Wants to Live
1:55.8	Forever, premiering April 11th. We watched the trailer ahead of this conversation at South by Southwest, and you'll hear
2:01.7	me make a few references to it during the interview. It was a fun conversation, so stick around. Support for this show comes from Odu.
2:25.0	Running a business takes everything you've got,
2:27.2	and a lot of the tools out there that are supposed to make your life easier
	...

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