Direct questions, real answers. On with Kara Swisher is where “Silicon Valley’s most feared and well-liked journalist” gets to the heart of what makes powerful people tick. Kara makes sense of tech, business and politics through tough conversations with the newsmakers who matter. So why do they show up? “Smart people,” says Kara, “like difficult questions.” Plus, it’s fun. Every Monday and Thursday. From New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Love them or hate them chances are that you’ve watched at least one Darren Star series. Kara once called them the “hottest trash on TV” but for over 30 years she has devoured shows that Star has created and executive produced including “Sex and the City” “Beverly Hills 90210” “Melrose Place” “Uncoupled” and — most recently — the Netflix hit “Emily in Paris.” In this conversation Kara and Darren discuss how HBO paved the way for risqué television how streaming has eclipsed network televisions and how Star got inside the mind of the straight girl. Before the interview Nayeema and Kara discuss why TV — trash or not — is being recycled into nostalgia programming. And they dive into the dark days media is facing right now after layoffs at CNN hiring freezes around the news industry and shutterings of small media outlets pave the way for a “bad winter.”   You can find Kara and Nayeema on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Man Behind 'Sex and the City' and 'Emily in Paris'

On with Kara Swisher