Liberal Media Bias, Trump & Taming Big Tech with Cable Impresario John Malone

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

Society & Culture

4.2 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

While media pioneer John Malone may not be a household name, he’s had a hand in shaping how all of us watch TV. Malone built Denver-based Tele-Communications Inc. into the largest cable company in the country, and then carved out Liberty Media from TCI. Liberty, along with various spinoff companies, have owned controlling stakes in companies like Discovery, SiriusXM, the Atlanta Braves, and Formula 1. Now, at 84, Malone has a new book out, “Born to Be Wired,” about his career and the fellow media titans he met along the way. Kara and Malone talk about how he transformed from the Ivy League-educated engineer to one of the “cable cowboys” who helped bring cable television into the homes of millions of Americans, how he squares his libertarian politics with President Donald Trump’s policies and the MAGA Republican Party, and why he thinks Big Tech needs major regulation. He also expands on some of his recent critiques of CNN and supposed left-wing bias in the media. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I outlined the whole damn thing.
0:02.7	Streaming, random access.
0:04.9	Yep, no, you're quite prescient.
0:06.8	Yeah, I mean, so what the hell, you know?
0:10.1	What the hell?
0:10.6	I'm also so stupid.
0:12.3	That's okay.
0:13.2	It's all. Hi, everyone from New York Magazine in the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:28.5	This is on with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher.
0:31.3	My guest today is John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media, a cable industry pioneer
0:35.8	and literally one of the smartest people in media.
0:38.9	As the CEO of Telecommunications Inc. or TCI, he turned a struggling Denver outfit into the largest cable company in the country and then carved Liberty Media out of TCI and grew it into one of the most influential and diverse media companies in the world.
0:53.3	Liberty and its spin-off
0:54.6	companies have owned major stakes in companies like Discovery, Sirius XM, the Atlanta Braves, and Formula One.
1:01.6	His memoir, born to be Wired, just came out, and as he says in the book, he's often been cast as a
1:06.7	ruthless villain by the media. He's been called Genghis Khan, Darth Vader, a monopolist,
1:12.0	and a robber baron. John describes himself as, quote, high-functioning autistic, and he's
1:18.1	mostly avoided the spotlight, but he's never shied from a fight. And the self-described
1:23.5	libertarian has been taking pot shots at CNN for years, so of course, I had to ask him about that.
1:29.4	And full disclosure, I'm a CNN contributor. At 84, he's still hugely influential. I'm excited to talk to him
1:36.1	because he's a complex man. A lot of people think he's one thing, and a lot of people think he's
1:40.9	another. I think he's just really good at business, and one of his focuses,, of course, is making money. He also thinks a lot more than the regular media
	...

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