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After recording nearly 90 episodes of “Hard Fork,” a weekly New York Times podcast about technology and business, life for hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton is pretty much the same as it was before, except for the occasional encounter with a fan, which is a new and sometimes shocking experience for them.
“Just last night I was having dinner with two friends who were visiting from out of town,” Newton said. “I came back from the bathroom and a guy stopped me. I'm basically face blind, so at first I thought I'd met him before. But then it turned out he recognized me from our YouTube channel.”
Since the podcast's first episode aired in October 2022, Roos and Newton have discussed topics such as the impending ban of TikTok by U.S. lawmakers, Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, and the pros and cons of digital companionship. The duo have interviewed guests such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman.
Over the years, Roos and Newton have tweaked the podcast's format, including inviting listeners to submit questions, but their mission remains the same: to inform and entertain.
In the interview, Newton and Ruth spoke about future goals for the podcast and their dream guests. These are edited excerpts.
How did you two meet?
Casey Newton My first memory of meeting Kevin was when I was invited to a book launch party for his book, Young Money, at the home of former Times reporter Evelyn Lasri. I remember walking in and being very upset that he was younger than me and had already published his second book. I don't remember much about the meeting; I'm sure we exchanged greetings. Over the years, I ran into Kevin many times and we developed a friendship.
Kevin Roose I was a huge subscriber and fan of Casey's newsletter, Platformer, which is must-read in Silicon Valley. Platformer covers topics like content moderation and tech legislation, and it's really good and pretty serious. I also knew there was another side to Casey. I knew he did improv comedy. I knew he was really funny, sharp, quick-witted, and a lot of fun to talk to about the subject. So I thought, “Could the guy who writes this really important, really serious newsletter also be a co-host on my podcast?”
“Hard Fork” has been out for almost two years now. What has the reaction been like from listeners so far?
Newton Typical emails say I use the word “like” too much, I say too many “ahs,” my voice is too cluttered, etc. People ask me why I talk so much about artificial intelligence.
Ruth Casey's sandbagging. I've gotten the best feedback out of any project I've ever done in my journalism career. I hear from a lot of people with really good and clever ideas. It's very humbling to work on a show where your listeners are smarter than you, they have PhDs in molecular biology, they're AI researchers.
What is the biggest challenge in producing a podcast?
Newton Besides Kevin's personality? The hardest thing is sometimes we don't have three things we want to talk about in an episode. There are a lot of tech shows out there that have a committee agreement that says, “Here are the three most important news stories this week. Even if you don't feel like you have a strong opinion, we're going to talk about those three no matter what.” Kevin and I really try to avoid that. We try to make sure that our curiosity takes precedence on the podcast, and we only say things that we want to say.
What are your future goals for the “hard fork”?
Newton I want the show to continue to be surprising and original. One of my first thoughts about “Hard Fork” was that I wanted it to have a “The Price is Right” feel in terms of games and segments. I don't know which segments or games will appear each week. I'm currently brainstorming ideas for other types of segments that would fit the show, be familiar with what we do, and allow us to explore more creatively. I want to grow our audience. I want to be the biggest tech show in the world.
Ruth I want it to be the biggest show in the world, not just a tech show. I want Joe Rogan to kneel before us. That's my goal.
Who is your dream guest?
Newton It's interesting because a lot of the interviews with big names don't end up being great, but I do know that Sarah Jessica Parker replied to me in the thread and said she's a fan of the show, so it would be a dream come true to have her on the show.
Ruth When I started the show, I actually had a long list of dream guests. I looked at it the other day and I've interviewed a lot of them and I'm really happy with them. I'd love to take ketamine with Elon Musk and interview him under his influence.
What do you like most about working together?
Newton Kevin was the only person I ever wanted to do a podcast with. His way of speaking is so in tune with mine. Kevin and I agree on so many things that it's surprising. Our perspectives on issues can sometimes differ, but we see the world in the same way. So it's a real comfort to go into the studio with him.
Ruth That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me.
Newton Yes, don't use any of them.
Ruth Casey is a great journalist and a good friend. He's one of the funniest people I know and has an incredibly strong sense of morality. I was really impressed by how Casey has kept his ethics in pursuit of journalistic excellence. He still really follows his principles. I wouldn't say that's unusual — a lot of journalists do that — but I feel like he's a particularly good example of that.