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

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

News Commentary, News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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 [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's on.
0:02.0	Hi, everyone from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:15.0	This is On with Kara Swisher and I'm Kara Swisher.
0:18.0	My guest today is Jeff Lawson, owner of America's finest news source, obviously The Onion.
0:24.7	Lawson is also the co-founder and former CEO of Twilio, a cloud communications platform
0:29.8	that's used by brands like Netflix, Uber, Airbnb, Toyota, and Salesforce.
0:35.0	In January of last year, Lawson stepped down as CEO and board member of Twilio
0:39.0	in response to pressure from activist investors. Since then, he's continued his work on Democracy
0:44.0	First, a political action committee he co-founded in 2022 that donates money to candidates from both
0:50.1	parties that are committed to democracy. He also bought The Onion, tried to buy Alex Jones's
0:55.3	Info Wars out of bankruptcy, and worked on a kit car. I spoke with Jeff last week at the University
1:00.7	of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy as part of their ongoing forum on
1:05.5	democracy's information dilemma. Lawson had a lot to say about Twilio, the onion, the state of our democracy, and the role of
1:12.5	tech. So, stick around. Hey, this is Peter Kafka.
1:30.9	I'm the host of channels, a podcast about technology and media and how they're both changing all the time.
1:37.3	And this week I'm trying to figure out how Donald Trump is changing the media in Washington, in the courtroom and in the boardroom.
1:45.9	On to help me figure it all out is Sarah Fisher, the excellent Washington-based media reporter for Axios. That's this
1:52.8	week on channels, wherever you get your favorite podcast. Buying a house has long been considered the best way to build wealth and move into true adulting.
2:07.6	Isn't it? I mean, at least that's what society wants us to think.
2:11.2	Got to get a burking, got to get a home, you know.
2:14.2	Okay, the handbag you can probably manage without, but what about a house?
2:19.9	Surely that's actually good, right? We're going to find out this week on Explain It to Me.
	...

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