Mixed Signals from Semafor Media

Jeff Harmon, co-founder and chief content officer shaping Angel Studios’ mission and slate, and Neil Harmon, co-founder building the crowdsourced Angel Guild, explain their values-driven, audience-first greenlighting. They discuss the Guild’s voting and veto system, how films like Solomio and Sound of Freedom fared, the studio’s pivot from bankruptcy to public markets, and ambitions to scale beyond niche faith audiences.

Johnny Harris, YouTube creator and New Press co-founder known for longform explainers on geopolitics and history. He talks about moving from filmmaking to explainers, building sustainable creator-driven journalism, funding and team tradeoffs for high‑production videos, and protecting independence while scaling and experimenting with formats.

Maverick Carter, sports media entrepreneur and LeBron James’ longtime business partner, talks scaling SpringHill into a global content and live-production force. He discusses rethinking fan engagement, the NBA’s attention economy and adding stakes to games. He also outlines Project B’s vision for a true global basketball league and what the Fullwell–SpringHill merger brings to sports storytelling.

Patrick Radden Keefe, bestselling author and investigative journalist behind London Falling, discusses how human drama drives his projects. He talks about following tips that lead to big stories. He reflects on fame’s impact, adaptations of his work for film and TV, and why he resists a pure true crime label.

Rose Wang, COO of Blue Sky and PhD in computing, explains the project’s protocol-first approach to decentralizing social media. She talks about rapid growth, experimenting with creator-focused monetization and subscriptions. Rose discusses modular social components, tools to manage political toxicity, and AI features like Adi for custom feeds.

Joanna Stern, tech journalist and former Wall Street Journal columnist who started New Things and wrote I Am Not a Robot, discusses leaving the paper to build an independent media business. She talks about using AI as a practical cofounder, experiments with wearable memory tech, querying chatbots about major life choices, and how AI could reshape media distribution and everyday devices.

Michael Lynton, former Sony Entertainment CEO and current chair at Snap and Warner Music, revisits his decision to greenlight The Interview and its chaotic fallout. He recounts the studio process, the massive hack and leaked emails, and the leadership choices he made under pressure. The conversation also touches on censorship, foreign-policy limits on Hollywood, and shifts in media and AI licensing.

Aiden McCaig, co-creator of Lemonade Stand who bridges business, tech and politics with creators, and Douglas Scott Wreden (DougDoug), streamer turned commentary creator with millions of followers. They trace Twitch’s shift beyond gaming into news and politics. They explain how gaming audiences follow creators into serious topics. They discuss creator privacy, career longevity, and platform differences.

Conversations with global CEOs about moments of judgment that define leadership. Discussions probe how leaders read forces shaping their industries and weigh high-stakes choices. A spotlight on how executives think about the AI transition and common leadership risks. Short, candid talks that set up future in-depth conversations with top business figures.

Jeffrey Goldberg, Atlantic editor-in-chief and veteran national-security reporter, joins to unpack Signalgate and its fallout. He recounts being added to a top-secret Trump chat, why Trump later invited him to the Oval Office, and how relationships with leaders like Netanyahu shifted. He also lays out The Atlantic’s mix of scoops and longform storytelling and talks newsroom leadership and editorial strategy.