Kevin Roose and Casey Newton reflect on the success of their podcast and look toward what’s next.
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After recording about 90 episodes of “Hard Fork,” a weekly New York Times podcast about technology and business, life is much the same for its hosts, Kevin Roose and Casey Newton. That is, except for the occasional encounter with a fan, which is a new and sometimes startling experience for them.
“Just last night, I was having dinner with two friends visiting from out of town,” Mr. Newton said. “As I was coming back from the bathroom, a man stopped me. At first, I thought I had met him before because I basically have face blindness. But then it emerged that he recognized me from our YouTube channel.”
Since the podcast’s first episode in October 2022, Mr. Roose and Mr. Newton have discussed and debated topics including the looming TikTok ban by U.S. lawmakers, Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter and the pros and cons of digital companionship. They’ve interviewed guests such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and Sam Altman, a co-founder of OpenAI.
Along the way, Mr. Roose and Mr. Newton have tinkered with the podcast’s format, inviting listeners to send in their questions, for example. But their mission has remained the same: to inform and entertain.
In an interview, Mr. Newton and Mr. Roose shared their goals for the future of the podcast and their dream guests. These are edited excerpts.
How did you two first meet?
CASEY NEWTON My memory of first meeting Kevin was that I had been invited to a party for his book “Young Money” at the home of Evelyn Rusli, who is a former Times reporter. I remember walking in and being so annoyed that he was younger than me and already on his second book. I don’t even really remember the encounter. I’m sure I said hi. I would just continually run into Kevin over the years, and we developed a friendship.