Kara Swisher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kara Swisher
|
|
|---|---|
Swisher at South by Southwest 2019
|
|
| Born | December 11, 1962 |
| Education | Georgetown University (BS) Columbia University (MS) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1994–present |
|
Notable work
|
Co-founder of Recode |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 4 |
Kara Swisher (born December 11, 1962) is an American journalist. She is well-known for writing about the internet and technology businesses. Since 1994, she has been covering how these companies work and grow.
As of 2025, Kara Swisher is a contributing editor at New York Magazine. She also hosts a popular podcast called On with Kara Swisher. Additionally, she is the co-host of another podcast, Pivot.
In 2014, she helped start Recode with Walt Mossberg. This website became part of Vox Media. From 2018 to 2022, she wrote opinion pieces for The New York Times. She has also written for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Kara Swisher grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. Her family moved there after her father passed away when she was five years old. As a child, she was interested in working for the military or intelligence agencies.
Swisher attended Georgetown University in Washington D.C. She wrote for the school newspaper, The Hoya, and the news magazine, The Georgetown Voice. During her time at Georgetown, she interned at The Washington Post. This experience helped her decide to become a journalist. She earned her degree in 1984.
In 1985, she received a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She also spent time at Duke University studying misinformation. She said this was always an area she wanted to learn more about.
After college, Swisher lived in Berlin, Germany, for almost a year. She worked at the Washington City Paper before returning to The Washington Post in 1986. At the Post, she started as a news assistant and later became a reporter.
Journalism Career
Starting at The Washington Post
Kara Swisher began using technology a lot while working at The Washington Post. She became known for covering AOL and the early days of the internet, known as the dot-com era. This was in the 1990s when many new internet companies were starting.
She decided to leave the Post to write a book. The book was called AOL.com: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads, and Made Millions in the War for the Web. During this time, she met Walt Mossberg, another experienced tech journalist. They became close friends and later worked together.
Writing for The Wall Street Journal
In 1997, Swisher joined The Wall Street Journal. She worked from their office in San Francisco, California. She created a column called Boom Town. This column focused on the companies, people, and culture of Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is a famous area in California where many technology companies are located.
In 2003, Swisher and Walt Mossberg started the All Things Digital conference. This event brought together top technology leaders for interviews. They later expanded it into a daily blog called AllThingsD.com.
Books by Kara Swisher
Kara Swisher has written several books. Her first book, aol.com: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads and Made Millions in the War for the Web, was published in 1998. She wrote a second book in 2003.
In 2021, it was announced that she would write two more books. The first of these, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, was released in February 2024.
Starting Recode
On January 1, 2014, Swisher and Mossberg launched their own website, Recode. It was based in San Francisco. They also held their first Code Conference in 2014. Vox Media bought the website in May 2015.
In June 2015, they started a weekly podcast called Recode Decode. On this podcast, Swisher interviewed important people in the technology world.
In September 2018, Recode and Vox Media launched Pivot. This is a podcast where Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about news. In April 2020, New York Magazine announced that Pivot would join their group of podcasts. Swisher also became an editor-at-large for the magazine.
Work at The New York Times
Swisher became a writer for The New York Times Opinion section in August 2018. She focused on technology topics. She wrote about people like Elon Musk and companies like Google.
In September 2020, the Times launched Sway, a podcast hosted by Swisher. This podcast focused on power and powerful people. Her first guest was Nancy Pelosi, who was then the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Other guests included Stacey Abrams, Tim Cook (Apple CEO), and Bill Gates (Microsoft co-founder).
In June 2022, Swisher announced she was leaving The New York Times. She moved to New York magazine for a new project.
Returning to Vox Media
In September 2022, Swisher became an editor-at-large at New York Magazine. She also started hosting her new podcast, On with Kara Swisher. The first episode of 'On' was released on September 26, 2022.
Other Activities
Kara Swisher has been a judge for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's NYC BigApps competition. She also appeared as herself in an episode of the HBO show Silicon Valley in 2015.
In 2021 and 2023, Swisher hosted the official podcast for the third and fourth seasons of the HBO TV series Succession.
Personal Life
Kara Swisher married engineer and technology executive Megan Smith in 1999. They had two sons, Louis and Alexander. They separated in 2014 and were divorced by 2017. Swisher married Amanda Katz on October 3, 2020. They have two children together.
In 2011, Swisher had a "mini-stroke" while on a flight. She wrote about this experience later. Swisher is known for wearing dark aviator sunglasses indoors. She says it is because she is sensitive to bright lights. She grew up Catholic but now identifies as agnostic.
Awards and Recognition
- 2011 Gerald Loeb Award for Blogging
- 2020 Fast Company Queer 50
- 2021 Fast Company Queer 50
- 2021 Elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Images for kids
-
Swisher at South by Southwest 2019
-
Swisher with Senator Elizabeth Warren at SXSW 2025
See also
In Spanish: Kara Swisher para niños
