On with Kara Swisher - Martha, Martha, Martha (ICYMI)

Episode Date: October 9, 2023

Today we’re replaying you a summer episode where Kara and Nayeema took a field trip to Martha Stewart’s 156-acre estate for an interview with the media mogul and O.G. influencer. On the menu for t...his conversation? The media maven’s early interest in tech, parties with Bill Gates (and the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy), doing Sports Illustrated at age 81, big ideas like “KMartha” or “MarthaAI,” and why nothing — not prison time nor the idea of aging — can stop the constant reinvention of Martha Stewart. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Instagram/Threads. We’re @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:01:11 Learn more at www.nissanusa.com slash 2025 dash kicks. Available feature, Bose is a registered trademark of the Bose Corporation. Hi, everyone. Today is a federal holiday, so we're playing you one of my favorite episodes from this past year of On. It's with Martha Stewart, the OG influencer. We taped this at her Connecticut house, okay, estate in June. Have a listen, but don't follow her life hack on how to keep avocados ripe. That didn't age well, just like the avocados. Hi, everyone, from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This is Martha and Snoop's potluck dinner party, and I'm Martha Stewart. Just kidding. I'm not even close to being Martha Stewart. This is On with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher.
Starting point is 00:02:05 And I'm Naeem Araza, and I guess today I'm Snoop Dogg. I don't think so. Can I be peedity? No. And Araza. No. No. Anyways, here we are. We are sitting in Martha Stewart's grand estate. Yes, we are.
Starting point is 00:02:19 It is grand. Let's set the scene a little bit. Okay, the scene is we come in, we get taken in another vehicle throughout the estate. There's chickens, there's peacocks. There's horses. There's horses. There's stables. There's so many beautiful gardens and trees. She does not disappoint. It's beautiful. And we're in a guest house, which I would actually retire in for the rest of my life. And there's a giant copper pot, which is the size of you, actually. It's actually perfectly the size of you. That's where I'm going to hide because I'm not leaving here. She could cook us into chili in that thing if the interview gets too tough. And it would be delicious.
Starting point is 00:02:50 And so we're here because she invited us up here. She has her own podcast, and so she has podcast facilities. We've done what's known as a podcast trade. It's not really a trade, but Cara taped with her yesterday. On her podcast. On her podcast in Manhattan, and then today we came up here to tape our podcast. And of course we said yes immediately. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:03:08 Because I mean, come on. They were like, do you want to do both in New York? We're like, no, we need to come up here. To Bedford, yeah. And then we will never leave. Right, exactly. We're here forever. So anyway, the reason we want to talk about Martha Stewart is because one, she's had a
Starting point is 00:03:19 real renaissance again. It's the 20th renaissance of Martha Stewart with this cover of Sports Illustrated. Age 81. 81 she's the oldest person to be on the cover she looks fantastic. I've known Martha for a long time and I've always found her fascinating and intriguing as an entrepreneur as a media figure as someone who's very open to ideas someone who has had a lot of setbacks and yet has sort of survived and thrived. I've always been fascinated by her. I mean, someone who started as a model and someone who worked in finance a bit to really the first lifestyle influencer, the first kind of creator of the home category. And then to an entrepreneur who's in everything from CBD to NFTs, she's constantly reinvented herself.
Starting point is 00:04:01 She never says no to things. I met her at a party at CES, the consumer electronic show that Bill Gates had. Last place I'd run into Martha Stewart. And since then, she came to my conferences. And she's always called me with questions about tech, been very interested in the whole category, and has used it really well. And very few media entrepreneurs did that. By the way, that's like her meeting you in, I don't know, some makeup aisle. Makeup aisle, right? Yeah, it was. She'd be like, what the fuck are you doing here, Kara Swisher? Yeah, no, yeah. It was an unusual thing. But then immediately you understood that she had a sense of humor about herself. She was able to make fun of herself. And at the same
Starting point is 00:04:37 time, she was willing to learn. And I cannot think of anybody else who has been like this in media. Just a few people. Barry Diller is one. Bob Iger is another. But more than anyone who leaped feet first into whatever tech trend happened, she did. And Barry didn't put himself out there like her. No. No. He has a very, I've been to Barry's house.
Starting point is 00:04:56 Very nice house, I gotta say. All right. Let's just go to rich people's houses. It's our show. It's not the show. Yeah. And then make them mad at us. And we go out in the copper pot.
Starting point is 00:05:04 Yeah. But she's what we call an early adopter. It's not the show. And then make them mad at us, and we go out in the copper pot. But she's what we call an early adopter. And she told me yesterday that she loved going to your conference because she learned so much from you and Walt. And this was in the 2000s, 2010s. And she said the only conferences she missed were yours and Teddy Forsman's. Oh, wow. Those were both great conferences. And I think one of the things that I like, I like someone who wants to learn. And she was always willing to learn about things and ask questions.
Starting point is 00:05:26 And she asked great questions. And I love attendees that get into what we're doing. And she was one of those people. One of the critiques of Martha over time has been that she's created this high bar that women can't actually achieve, this perfection, this very difficult to achieve life. And she's standing by that perfection. She does. And even now, she's obviously been prolific for the Sports Illustrated cover, but even recent weeks,
Starting point is 00:05:52 she gave an interview to Footwear News where she said America would go down the drain if people don't go back to work. Yeah, we'll ask her about that. Yeah, we'll ask her about that. That's spicy. But she's willing to do that. Very few people are willing to speak their mind. She works all the time, and I think she doesn't understand why people don't work all the time. She does, in this new era, have to understand why others don't want to work, but she doesn't have to work with them. Yeah. She said in that interview, you should be able to call anyone all the time, even on weekends. And after one of the new employees didn't take her call on a Sunday because they were taking a bath, she said, well, I couldn't work with that person. Yeah. So we're going to ask her about that.
Starting point is 00:06:19 Ask her about that. Yeah. She's gotten a lot of flack. And she's very resilient because she has had these setbacks in her career. And one was that back in 2004, she was charged with obstruction and served some jail time. Yeah, lying to the FBI. Yeah. She lied to the FBI. And she admits that she lied.
Starting point is 00:06:37 And you can't lie to the FBI. I can't imagine going from a house like this to prison. She did it. But if you went to prison and then you ended up in a house like this. That's true. There you go. That's a better way to do it. Anyways, let's take a quick break
Starting point is 00:06:51 and we'll be back with Martha Stewart. And we're also going to take her bowls before we go, right? Yeah, we'll take her bowls. We'll take her bowls. Should we take some cooking books? Cooking books. What else should we take from here?
Starting point is 00:07:00 The coffee seat is nice. I wonder who would adopt me. Maybe. More likely me. When you picture an online scammer, what do you see? For the longest time, we have these images of somebody sitting, crouched over their computer with a hoodie on, just kind of typing away in the middle of the night. And honestly, that's not what it is anymore. That's Ian Mitchell, a banker turned fraud fighter.
Starting point is 00:07:37 These days, online scams look more like crime syndicates than individual con artists. And they're making bank. Last year, scammers made off with more than $10 billion. It's mind-blowing to see the kind of infrastructure that's been built to facilitate scamming at scale. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of scam centers all around the world. These are very savvy business people.
Starting point is 00:08:01 These are organized criminal rings. And so once we understand the magnitude of this problem, we can protect people better. One challenge that fraud fighters like Ian face is that scam victims sometimes feel too ashamed to discuss what happened to them. But Ian says one of our best defenses is simple. We need to talk to each other. We need to have those awkward conversations around what do you do if you have text messages you don't recognize? What do you do if you start getting asked to send information that's more sensitive? Even my own father fell victim to a, thank goodness,
Starting point is 00:08:35 a smaller dollar scam, but he fell victim and we have these conversations all the time. So we are all at risk and we all need to work together to protect each other. Learn more about how to protect yourself at vox.com slash Zelle. And when using digital payment platforms, remember to only send money to people you know and trust. The Capital Ideas Podcast now features a series hosted by Capital Group CEO Mike Gitlin. This podcast now features a series hosted by Capital Group CEO, Mike Gitlin. Through the words and experiences of investment professionals, you'll discover what differentiates their investment approach, what learnings have shifted their career trajectories, and how do they find their next great idea. Invest 30 minutes in an episode today.
Starting point is 00:09:22 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Published by Capital Client Group, Inc. It is on. All right, so we're going to cover a lot of stuff. Are you ready? Yep. Cool. Thank you for doing this.
Starting point is 00:09:39 I wanted to start with how you and I got to know each other, which was at my old conference, the Code Conference, and before that, All Things Digital Conference. You were an attendee every year, and you showed up and you sat in the second row and took notes, in the first row, excuse me, and took notes. And you sat next to whoever owned the company at the time. One time you're sitting next to Rupert before the owners before. Explain to me why you were there. Why did you come? Well, I was operating a company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and I had to know about technology. I had to know about what was going on. I was very curious about what was going on in that world. And your conference afforded me the best, best picture into what was happening then and what was going to happen. I was so pleased with that conference. I really insisted every year to go. I had to make room on my schedule and go down to Southern California to attend.
Starting point is 00:10:31 And I really loved it. I loved it. And I would go with a friend or two and sit in on every single session. One of the early things, the memory we talked about when I was on your podcast, is how you grilled Sony CEO Howard Stringer about too many cords. You were pissed about cords, and you pulled out a bag full of a tangle of cords.
Starting point is 00:10:51 But these were the chargers, that each device had its own particular charger, and you had to have that one because you couldn't charge it any other way. And I really did have to carry, I had a camera, I had a phone. Yeah, you outlined this all. I had a phone, I had the computer, I had my laptop, I had this, I had that. It was like crazy how many cords I had. And everybody laughed. I remember the audience was in hysterics laughing at this whole thing. But it was memorable because that was one of the ways that all these companies actually became profitable immediately.
Starting point is 00:11:24 Right. You were pointing out that they were greedy and they were inconveniencing the consumers, actually. They didn't care. They didn't care. And so one of the things that I think people suppose, I actually met you before that, and it was at CES, which is the Consumer Electronics Show, where you showed up at a party that Bill Gates threw. And then you just popped into the party. And all of us technology reporters are like, what is Martha Stewart doing here? You had been super involved with that. And you went popped into the party. And all of us technology reporters are like, what is Martha Stewart doing here? You had been super involved with that.
Starting point is 00:11:47 And you went to that also. Oh, I did. And Bill Gates had that wonderful conference at his house, the CEO conference. Yeah, I didn't get invited to that, Martha. Well, you weren't a CEO. You had to be a CEO. And that was really high end in his own beautiful home on Lake Washington, in Bellevue, in Seattle. And I loved going to that and looking at his house.
Starting point is 00:12:10 We had tours through the house and through his amazing library. And I remember him showing us the walls. It had been designed by a friend of mine, Terry Despont, his house. And Terry designed 12-foot corridors in between all the rooms. These were walls, hollow walls, in which they could run all the fibers and all the cables. And nowadays, this is pretty wireless. Can you imagine? Cat 5, Cat 6, right? It's so crazy. When I think back on what I saw and how it was being developed. That house was famous for that. piece of art, and they have a whole library of art that they've licensed, you know, from Picassos to Chagalls to anybody.
Starting point is 00:13:06 But in those days, he actually did display his art on TVs. On TVs instead, and they kept them somewhere else, the actual art. Yeah. That's interesting. So, you know, it's interesting because you had an enthusiasm for it, not just as a, you're kind of a geek, a closet geek in a lot of ways. Yeah, I think I am. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:13:24 I think I am. Yeah. I think I am. I remember buying my first computer in 1982. I went to the IBM store on 57th and Madison. There was an IBM store there. And they showed me this little tiny computer. IBM PC, yeah. That's it. And then a big, big unit to put under the table.
Starting point is 00:13:42 The desk, yeah. And you had to buy the table because it had a little hole in it in which the PC sat. And I put it up in my studio in Westport, Connecticut, and I hired my friend, Mariana. She was a software designer, and she lived down the street from Romania. And she taught me how to use the computer and showed me a lot of the things that it could do for us. We were using it basically for bookkeeping. But boy, I just thought this is so fabulous. And you've tried everything.
Starting point is 00:14:12 And one of the things, you also were very early to Twitter. I joined in 2007. You joined in 2009, which was very early. It was more than a year before Elon, by the way. I had a hard time convincing anyone, at least well-known or in media, to join Twitter. At the time, I was like, you've got to get on this. Oh, I loved it because I was out selling ads all the time for the magazine. And so I would, before I went into a client, like I went out to General Motors, and I took surveys on Twitter.
Starting point is 00:14:41 And you instantaneous, instant, how many of you drive a Suburban? And I would get back 1000s of answers. And what do you like about it? What don't you like about it? I remember doing it with Kroger's, I think grocery stores. And you know, what do you buy there was specifically do you like about it? Whole Foods, I did it for Whole Foods early on. But it was an instant survey. And probably very accurate. And people were responding and they had the time to do it and they were responding and the clients loved it. And then I'm sure they all adopted it as a research tool also. For me, it was a research tool. I could also, and I also love the 180 letters. Remember, that's all you could have.
Starting point is 00:15:21 You have 40 characters. 140. I can't remember now. Now you can have 280. Oh, 280. Okay, it was 140. And I had to write recipes in 140 characters. Right. And that was such a great challenge. And I did it. And people loved it. So I used it, yes. You used it a lot. And you actually, back then, you said you loved it so much more than Facebook, which you also employed a lot. And you got a complaint from a Facebook executive about your comments on Twitter. Who was the executive? It's got to be Cheryl. It was probably Cheryl Sandberg. Yes, it probably was. It sounds like Cheryl.
Starting point is 00:15:52 She was very outspoken, but I love her. I just thought she did an amazing job when she was at Facebook. I remember visiting out there, seeing her little desk next to Mark's little desk. I mean, it was a cozy kind of corporate office. It was. It was indeed. But it was a very interesting time. I greatly admire all those people because they did do so much to change the world. And so you were a big Twitter user. You're not as big a Twitter user now. No. And you sold the stock, correct? I did at Elon's high price of $54.35 or whatever it was. You sucker. I'll take your money. I'll take your offer. Yeah. And it was so strange. Why did you sell it then? You didn't believe in his dream?
Starting point is 00:16:37 No, I didn't actually like what he was doing. I'm not happy that he bought Twitter. I'm just not. I don't think he's the right person to own a fabulous company like Twitter, a wonderful communications vehicle. I just don't. Why? Well, and I've been proven right since because of the things he said, the things he promotes. I had no idea he was so conservative in his views. Who's the right person to lead it? Besides Martha Stewart. To lead Twitter at this present time?
Starting point is 00:17:10 I have to really think about that. I just don't like it the way it is. So what do you use now? Well, I communicate a lot by Instagram. I think Instagram has done a rather good job, except for the bots that are attacking my posts every single day. Oh, really? Oh, I have a lot of bots. And I do not like them at all.
Starting point is 00:17:28 What do they do? Well, it's money bots. Oh, Adrian is the most fabulous person I ever did know. And she's made me so much money. You know, those things, they just come on thousands of them. You go through. Well, I want to see who's responding to my post. I don't read every single post. But then I see that I tried to delete all of them. There's no way to delete them. So I did. I can see Martha Stewart responding to my post. I don't read every single post, but then I see that I try to delete all of them. There's no way to delete them. So I did. I can see Martha Stewart next to her giant fireplace. No, no, no, no, darling. I'm not going to be able to do that. But I also,
Starting point is 00:17:54 I have an argument with Instagram right now. The number of users on my Instagram has not increased. I think it increased like 200,000 in the last three or four years. Yeah. To only 1.8 million. I'm much more popular. So something's wrong with my numbers. Maybe this podcast will get Instagram to... Maybe. I will speak to them directly. But do you use TikTok?
Starting point is 00:18:16 I do use TikTok. I met the original marketer of TikTok. And he was fantastic. He invited me to a lunch out in California. And I went to meet him. And he showed me the ropes for TikTok. And he was fantastic. He invited me to a lunch out in California. And I went to meet him and he showed me the ropes for TikTok. And I had been in China watching the TikTokers create the TikToks early on. And I just thought it was a fabulous platform for good video, for good information. And I still think that. And you do them yourself. I do, yes.
Starting point is 00:18:45 I do, and we put together a few at the company. But it's a good way to advertise, and it's also a very good way to make money because I get paid for some of the posts. I did a campaign for Clay Depot Cosmetics. So you're like Kim Kardashian. We did fabulously. Oh, I'm a a Kardashian. Oh, I'm a junior Kardashian. Okay. I think you were pre-Kardashian. But we got so much attention,
Starting point is 00:19:18 and we won best campaign of the year for that TikTok. It was a series of TikToks. You seem to enjoy the format. You're an influencer. I do. Do you consider yourself an influencer? I think, as some people have said, I'm one of the original influencers. So when you think about doing this, I'm curious, what drives you to do this? Well, the stuff that we create, the content that we are making each and every day is very valuable content. Everybody should know it, I think. is very valuable content. Everybody should know it, I think. It makes life easier.
Starting point is 00:19:50 It makes the homekeeping and homemaking more wonderful. It might sound mindless or something, but it's not mindless. It makes every day nicer. And so I want people to know that, and that's one reason that I continue to learn how to do things so that I can teach people how to do things. Every day I learn something new. I'm doing a television program now on Roku, three different categories. One is cooking. You moved to another platform.
Starting point is 00:20:15 Yeah, we did. And it's a streaming platform, but it is free. It's so interesting because one of the things is you yourself are an entrepreneur. You don't ever refer to yourself like that. No, but I am. You're different. I am an entrepreneur. I did something that no one had done before me. That's being an entrepreneur.
Starting point is 00:20:32 I created a lifestyle business focused on all kinds of media. My business plan was very curious and very nice. I had studied a lot of art and architecture. plan was very curious and very nice. I had studied a lot of art and architecture. So, my business plan, the original organization plan for the company was the sun in the middle, which was content. Around the sun was first print, because that's what we were doing in the magazine. Then around the print was media, which was TV and radio, whatever. around that was omnimerchandising. So anything emanating from the content through the media,
Starting point is 00:21:13 media promoted all the kinds of things we were talking about, like a beautiful table. This is a Martha table. And then merchandising made the table and sold it. And so all of that was incorporated into my beautiful, beautiful business plan. Your beautiful business plan. It sounded like Trump. It was beautiful. No, but it was beautiful. That's before Donald Trump adopted the word beautiful. Yes. Yeah, yeah. It was beautiful because the last word I use in my description of what we do in creating
Starting point is 00:21:41 inspirational, informative, practical, and beautiful content. That's what I talk about. That's what you were trying to do. Talk about Omnimedia, because at the time, people made fun of you. Oh, they did. Calling it Omnimedia. And I was like, no, no, everything is going to be everything media. You were thinking of it in different terms.
Starting point is 00:21:58 This was way back when. And I got upset with Time. Time was my publisher early on. They're the ones who actually agreed to do my magazine. They let me have a certain percent of it, and they were a partner. And they did a very good job in distributing and printing my beautiful magazine. This is Martha Stewart Living. Yes, Martha Stewart Living, which we started in around 1990. But within five years, they started
Starting point is 00:22:24 to tell me, oh, we're going to put everything online for free. And I said, you can't do it for free. Every single magazine that you have should be a subscription online. I had many arguments with them. Now, this is an entrepreneur speaking. They were not so entrepreneurial. No, they were not. And I went to a lot of meetings and sat in on a lot, and I kept arguing about it. Do not give away what you own. What you own and make.
Starting point is 00:22:48 And make. Or everything has a price. Yes. Everything has a price. Yes, and that would have changed the whole— Subscriptions. You bet. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:22:55 And it didn't. They didn't do it. They just went— Because you're comfortable with advertising. Oh, yes. You're not uncomfortable with advertising. Not at all. You thought content was worth paying for.
Starting point is 00:23:03 I absolutely still think that. So one of the things I've admired about your career is that you've owned your own brand and business, something I tried to do also. Time Warner, as you said, used to finance your magazine and media. You bought yourself out as early as 1997. Could you talk about the decision and why you realized owning a brand was important? Well, arguing with them about, first of all, the internet. And realizing that— You're sick of arguing with them.
Starting point is 00:23:28 Well, yeah. And it was a pleasant experience being with Chime, by the way. They were okay guys. And as I said, they really did help me— Okay guys and one lady, as I recall. Yeah, one lady. They actually let me produce a really beautiful magazine in great quantity. And then I realized that I had so much with this idea of merchandising and everything.
Starting point is 00:23:52 I had other fish to fry. So that's why I wanted to buy back the magazine. We coordinated. Sharon Patrick was my president at the time. I was the CEO. Patrick was my president at the time. I was the CEO. And we came up with this plan to get a huge contract from Kmart, a merchandising contract, which turned out to be a phenomenal deal.
Starting point is 00:24:22 And we were able to – I was able to pay time the – what it was, $40 million or whatever it was. I didn't even blink. I mean, I was not a terribly wealthy woman at that time, but I went public and then I was a terribly wealthy woman at the time. So those are the kinds of things that happened. Time was a big deal, like to walk away from time. Even then, it was pre-internet. It was pre... I was an entrepreneur. Right. And I had to express myself in a different way. And that really was the best way
Starting point is 00:24:46 to do it. Best way to do it. When you think about the control of your brand, which I think you have complete control, you eliminate gatekeepers. You are the gatekeeper. I try. Yeah. And also a deep relationship with your user, right? Or your audience, essentially. You have a close relationship. Even if they don't like you, they know you or they know of you. They know everything about me. It's just incredible. The fan base is huge and interesting because they are really intelligent people. Do you like user-generated content based on your content or do you feel like you lose control of the brand or do you care?
Starting point is 00:25:20 No, no. You don't mind parodies of yourself either. No, I don't. And you can't. No, no. You don't mind parodies of yourself either. No, I don't. And you can't.
Starting point is 00:25:27 You cannot fight those things. You have to sort of go along with the flow because it makes you more likable. And if I fought every single thing, I'd probably be dead by now. Right. But you can't. You can't. And I just recently had a dinner with about 12 or 15 serious Martha fans. And I sat and had a long dinner in Westport, Connecticut. I did a speech at my old house for a charity event. And people paid a lot of money to have dinner with me. They came from all over the country. And we sat and talked. They
Starting point is 00:25:59 know every writer that I've ever used in the magazine, they know every story. They know every photograph. They know everything we've done, every product we've made. They know everything. They could come in and be part of the company. They are that interested in what we have accomplished and created. So you have a respect for fans. It's interesting because many years ago I kept telling people fans are what everything's going to be about. And the fan base is huge. Likes and fans.
Starting point is 00:26:26 Yes, likes. If you don't get likes, what good are you's going to be about. And the fan base is huge. Yes, likes. If you don't get likes, what good are you? You better be liked. it's Donald Trump. He has a very big fan base. One of the things, though, is there's a lot of now lifestyle influencers everywhere. There's influencers on everything, makeup,
Starting point is 00:26:42 lifestyle, etc. Is that a good or bad thing when any normal person can go and when you see, you know, I think, you know, say on TikTok, there's a million creators or whatever, 1% of them are very good. How do you look at that? Is that a threat to someone like you or not at all? Before you used, there should be one Martha, now there's dozens. Oh, dozens. But not all of them know as much as I know. Not all of them. Not all of them have done what I've done in the period of years that I've been working. But I learned from them, too. I learned recently a hack, they call them hacks, about ripe avocados. And I just did it on my show today. I just talked about it, and I said it was a hack that I saw. And I just did it on my show today. I just talked about it, and I said it was a hack that I saw. I'm not going to say it's my idea because I didn't come up with it,
Starting point is 00:27:30 but that I can use it and that you can use it is valuable. Yeah, absolutely. When you think you're going to get into the shift in your brand, when you started off, you put in an interview to elevate the job of homemaker. What do you imagine you're doing now? Are you elevating the job of who? Right now, I am of anybody. It's anybody. Because there are two male households.
Starting point is 00:27:53 There are two female households. There are male, female households. There are binary households. I don't know what they are anymore. They all still need help. And I have this idea that maybe I should be, why is there an Alexa? Why is there a, hey, Google? There should be a Martha.
Starting point is 00:28:12 Hi, Martha. How do I do this? This is Martha AI that's coming. That's right. This is Martha AI, and I'm working on that. Oh, you are? Oh, yes. Okay.
Starting point is 00:28:20 Because the content, I have hundreds of thousands of pages. Oh, you've made a lot. Yeah, you would be an LLM, wouldn't you? Perfect. Yeah. Perfect. Yeah, yeah. And so I'm very interested in doing that.
Starting point is 00:28:30 Doing that. Yes. Ingesting all your content into an LLM. Yes. And then creating a Martha AI. Yes. Do you want to work on it with me? No, but you should do it.
Starting point is 00:28:40 You should do it. Where should I go? Oh, there's lots of places. I'll help you with that. Okay. I will tell you who to go to. You help me because I want to go to the right person because I don't want to. I remember wanting to do this a long time ago.
Starting point is 00:28:51 Ingesting all your information. I went to Kleiner Perkins and I wanted to do that. This is a VC firm for people who don't know. Yes. And they underwrote Jeff Bezos. They underwrote Google. They underwrote a lot of the major, major stuff. But they said it was too complicated.
Starting point is 00:29:06 Oh, really? Yeah. It's not complicated. Well, it's not now. Yeah, I have some ideas. But in that case, you're aiming at everything. Because I think the knock on you back when was that this idea of it's too perfect, right? How do you look at that now? I laugh. Why?
Starting point is 00:29:23 Because it wasn't too perfect. You do not want your teacher to give you misinformation. Okay. And so I didn't want to be wrong. I wanted to be smart. I wanted to be. And my nephew, Christopher, he counted how many times I said perfectly perfect in a show that I was doing. And it was kind of embarrassing.
Starting point is 00:29:43 So you didn't mind saying that? No. So what if this is hard? you didn't mind saying that? No. So what if this is hard? I didn't mind. I said, you said it 23 times in an hour. And I said, well, that's okay. That's my thing. And I laughed about it.
Starting point is 00:29:54 But I sort of toned it down a little bit. But you didn't mind the idea that this is hard to do, these expectations of it? No. You didn't expect people to do it necessarily. No, I did. I did want people to know how everything is done. But I knew that there are a lot of people that would then be able to tell their housekeeper or their husband or
Starting point is 00:30:16 their wife how to do it, because they would know how to do it, even if they couldn't do it themselves. That's the whole, it's much more complicated than you realize. It's not me just saying, this is the way you bake a cake. Not everybody can bake a cake. They just can't. But they can know that if it's made that way, it will be delicious and beautiful. I see. And usable.
Starting point is 00:30:39 You make no apologies for being perfect, so to speak. No. But one of the other things you've done is you've confused and fascinated feminists throughout your career, which I find really interesting. In 2000, Joan Didion wrote a feature about you in The New Yorker, which I love this quote. It ends with, the dreams and the fears into which Martha Stewart taps are not, quote, feminine domesticity, but a female power of a woman who sits at the table with the men and still in her apron walks away with the chips. Was she right? Did you like that? I loved that.
Starting point is 00:31:07 I thought that was a beautifully written and thoughtful article. And I never really got to say that to her face, and I'm really sorry about that. Because she's a fantastic writer, and she's just an incredible, incredible thoughtful person. But many people have referred to that article. I'm working on a documentary now with R.J. Cutler about my life. Oh, wow. And that's a very important piece of writing for us in this documentary. And what we're trying to focus on is I've lived eight decades.
Starting point is 00:31:42 That's a long time, and many things happened in each decade. And how did I fit into those decades? So we're going to get to your ability to reinvent yourself. But I want to, we were missing, if I didn't start, I want to finish this section. You made recently controversial comments about remote work. I love them, I have to say. You said people can't, quote,
Starting point is 00:32:01 possibly get everything done working two days remotely. You called France's 30-day policy stupid and said that's not a very thriving country. Should America go down the drain because people don't want to go back to work? You got a lot of backlash, in part because women have gained some flexibility working at home, and others note it's a privilege to be able to afford home care. Talk about this, because I think a lot of people agree with you. Many tech companies are now— Many companies agree with me. Many companies agree with me. Many executives agree with me.
Starting point is 00:32:28 What I was talking about was more personal because we are a creative company. We are a collaboration company. We have to see each other, see what we're doing. It doesn't work on three days a week. Do you think any of the pushback is fair with people who want to, you know, basically you've worked from home your whole life because your work is your home. Yes, but my home is my office. Right, right. And it just happened to be that way.
Starting point is 00:32:54 And we have people working with me. But that's the way it is. But I still go to New York to my office several days a week. I work about 18 hours a day, truthfully. And I know how hard it is to work. I know how hard it is to manage a home, make your husband happy or unhappy, raise the child or the children. I know how. I've gone through all of that. So, I know how hard it is. And yet, I admire so much someone like my mom, who had six children, cooked all our meals. The minute that the baby, Laura, was five years old and in school
Starting point is 00:33:35 full-time, mom went full-time back to teaching sixth grade in a nutty public school and loved it. And she just did it all. Sewed all our clothes, helped my father in the garden, canned all the tomatoes. She did it all. And so what the heck? What are we complaining about? What about people who can't afford childcare and things like that? We didn't have childcare. Have another child to take care of the other child. Right, right. And so when you say these things, are you aware? I'll get in trouble for that. No, yeah, that's okay. One of the things you said is you should be able to call anybody anytime, even on weekends. You've been said after one of your new employees didn't take
Starting point is 00:34:14 a call on a Sunday because they were taking a bath, quote, knew I didn't want to work with that person. You do talk about wellness with your audience. You're not Gwyneth Paltrow, let's be clear. Something's changed at work. There's a lot of pushback from employees now to companies. I know Google's seeing protests. All the companies are trying to get people. Oh, they are. So how does this resolve itself?
Starting point is 00:34:36 I do not. Mars is like, get the fuck back to work. I do not know. Get out of the bath. I do not know. But we're trying. We're trying hard to accommodate this idea of flex work and all of that stuff. Your eyes just went up with flex work.
Starting point is 00:34:49 Yeah, flex work. But that's okay for accountants who have all the stuff on their computers. They have all the spreadsheets. They can do it all at home. But do they do it all at home? You call and, oh, they're out walking the dog or whatever. I don't want to keep harping on it. You're standing by.
Starting point is 00:35:06 I am, yes, I am strongly in favor of getting back to work in a regular work week, which was five days. Yeah. And then if you are an entrepreneur, the work week doesn't end on Friday. It does not. Support for this show is brought to you by Nissan Kicks. It's never too late to try new things. And it's never too late to try new things, and it's never too late to reinvent
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Starting point is 00:36:31 It's an AI-powered customer platform that builds campaigns for you, tells you which leads are worth knowing, and makes writing blogs, creating videos, and posting on social a breeze. So now, it's easier than ever to be a marketer. Get started at HubSpot.com slash marketers. So let's talk about your own reinvention. One of the things you've been applauded on in your career is your ability to reinvent yourself. And in 2004, you were convicted of felony charges, the Imclone insider trading case. You served five months in federal prison, had to resign as CEO of the company you'd built. How do you look back on that now when you think about it? I look back on it as kind of a silly but serious infringement of a person's rights.
Starting point is 00:37:25 It seems to me improbable that that could have happened. If I had had better advice, if I had taken it more seriously. I mean, I took it seriously, but I didn't know the consequences. I had no idea that that would make such a huge difference. And remember, I was convicted of a crime of lying. Now that's very different from insider trading. I was not an insider trader. I was a liar and I have rarely lied in my life. I think the biggest lies I have ever told were to my husband
Starting point is 00:37:58 when I told him that the price of the dress was $30 instead of $300. He didn't know what dresses cost. But that is the biggest lie I ever told. It was insane. One of the things I always thought was that interesting that you're the only person that goes away for insider trading and all those men do it all the time. But it wasn't insider trading. I get it. But I mean talking about targeting.
Starting point is 00:38:21 Yes. Did you feel targeted? Oh, I did. I did. And I think I was. Why? We will get into that in my autobiography. Yes. Did you feel targeted? Oh, I did. I did, and I think I was. Why? We will get into that in my autobiography in a very serious way. So what are the implications? Can we have a preview of that?
Starting point is 00:38:34 Well, implications were not so serious. It took me away from the operations of the company for a period of time. But when I left prison after five months, we called it Camp Alderson. It was in West Virginia. Yeah. I made the most of the time there. I wrote a lot. You know, we had no computers or anything.
Starting point is 00:38:59 We had not much communication. We had a telephone that we could use. And we had a very small stipend of money that we could spend on evening activities like pottery. But my stock was at a new high because people did not stop buying Martha Stewart product. It was still the very highest quality, very, very well liked. The magazine was very popular. And so when I came back to New York and back to the office, it was like just coming home.
Starting point is 00:39:32 I had been away for a period of time. So it didn't have implications. No, it did not. Did it make you more popular? I think in some circles, yes. I think the conservative movement in America had just started around that time. And those people sometimes looked askance at me. But no, it was generally okay.
Starting point is 00:39:55 And so thank goodness, because I did have a new CEO installed in the company, one of my board members, who was good at making deals and not so good at running the company. And it went on like that for a period of time. I think I was five years without being able to be the CEO. I don't think it's going to be the case with Elizabeth Holmes, though. I don't think when she gets off. Don't compare me to Elizabeth Holmes. I will not. I shall not. That is a very unfair comparison. I would agree. I would agree. Although the only comparison I would make, it's interesting that only women seem to pay the price. There's a lot of Elizabeth Holmes-like characters floating around tech. Of course there are. Yeah, and she's the only one. Of course.
Starting point is 00:40:34 Guilty as she may be in that case. Not sympathetic. Not sympathetic, yeah. Do you think you were not sympathetic? I was this pretty woman coming into, you know, in a strange courtroom with strange jurors and really bad lawyers that was just, it was impossible. It just wasn't meant to be. Wasn't meant to be. But it didn't seem to slow you down. I think the problem in tech is that no one rich and powerful is getting criticism from their inner circles. You kind of have to fail to understand real life. Was that a moment for you?
Starting point is 00:41:07 Did that teach you anything? It taught me that if life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Right, right. What was the lemonade then? The lemonade was keeping that company vibrant. I had a lot of revelations, but not religious. Just revelations that you had to what? Well, no, I had to buckle down and look around me
Starting point is 00:41:35 and be more careful with every single thing I did. I kind of lost my mojo in real estate. I was such a good real estate investor originally. And it slowed me down on those things. But I focused on other things. Focused on other things, clearly. So talk about comebacks. Because one of the things that makes entrepreneurs is the ability, and I know you hate this word pivot, but to shift from one thing to the other and take failure as an opportunity. Well, again, I didn't fail at anything. I mean, I just didn't fail at anything.
Starting point is 00:42:09 Right, setbacks. A momentary setback in a long, well-lived life. But I was very happy to create more things. We got new contracts. Kmart, at the same time that all of this was happening, my fabulous contract with Kmart was coming to an end because of a man called Eddie Lampert. Do you remember Eddie? And Eddie wanted to keep me on, but with no royalty. Sounds like Eddie Lampert. Yeah, it was like the craziest deal on earth. You know, Eddie, how can I be designing for you and making product with no royalty?
Starting point is 00:42:48 Yeah, yeah. And he just laughed. I mean, it was ridiculous. But I wanted to buy Kmart at the time that he bought it and change it to Kmart. That would have been a good idea. Wouldn't that have been great? Yes, why didn't you? Kmart.
Starting point is 00:43:02 It would have been the best store because I really like mass market. What would that look like? What would K-Martha look like? It would have been great. Right. And, you know, it would have just been so great. K-Crew. We could have had all of J.Crew in there.
Starting point is 00:43:16 Uh-huh. K-Crew. Right, got it. I mean, K-Mart was the biggest retailer in America before Walmart and Target when I signed up with them. And then they just lost their way because they didn't even know what inventory controls were with the new computers. So you would have liked to be at Commerce. Oh, yeah. Of course I would have.
Starting point is 00:43:40 I would have loved that. But I loved having all my stuff in there. I still have all my Kmart product. I use it all the time. It's in all my houses. And then we went with Macy's, which also turned out to be a very good thing. And then, oh, and then Mark Burnett came after prison. And he asked me to do The Apprentice, Martha Stewart.
Starting point is 00:43:59 I watched it. Yes, with Donald Trump doing his Apprentice. Yes, tell me about that. Yeah, that was very interesting because I had watched a lot of the Donald Trump apprentices and thought, you know, he's a bully. He's relying on a kind of odd cast of characters. And I thought I could do a very good apprentice. Now, I didn't go to Mark Burnett. Mark Burnett came to me and asked me.
Starting point is 00:44:24 He changed my entire big office downtown into the home for the apprentices. They moved into my offices. They had bathrooms. They had kitchens. They lived there like apartments in my 150,000 square foot office. It was fantastic. And yet, I don't think I did a really great job because I didn't pick Bethany Frankel. She was one of my apprentices. She then went on to become a pretty hot shot in TV and all those things. I didn't pick her because I couldn't stand her. Okay.
Starting point is 00:44:59 Well, likability shouldn't be your goal. I just couldn't. Yeah. And nothing against her personally. Just the way she was on The Apprentice. And the girl we did, she was entrepreneurial and attractive and well-spoken and everything. And she's done all right, but nothing like Bethany. The whole thing was in hysteria. And I was supposed to, the big plan was that I was hired by Mark Burnett to fire Donald.
Starting point is 00:45:29 Oh, okay. To say, you're fired. Just like he had said to hundreds of people during his apprentice, I was to fire him and take over. Yeah. But he got wind of it, and he did not want to leave. So he would not be fired by Martha Stewart? No, he would not be. What are your thoughts on him working with him?
Starting point is 00:45:50 I didn't really work with him. I was working with Mark Burnett. Yeah, yeah. And Donald would come by. I remember him coming by in the finale and, you know, like that around the place. But that's all. Nothing much. Do you have any advice for him if he goes to prison?
Starting point is 00:46:03 No, sorry. Let's just wait for that. No, we're not going to talk about Donald Trump. Did you see it coming that he could be president? No. No, I didn't think about it at that time. Not at that time. He was kind of a laughable figure in New York.
Starting point is 00:46:16 Not at that time. He was not who he became. What do you imagine is going to happen to him next, speaking of brands? Oh, dear, I don't know. I think he looked extremely uncomfortable at his indictment, that he's not a happy man. Yeah, I think in general he's not a happy man. So let's talk about happiness, though.
Starting point is 00:46:37 As you're talking about reinvention, you start off as a perfect homemaker. You've had a lot of partners, and one of the ones that I think people are intrigued by is you and Snoop Dogg. It's worked out really well. It's worked out really well. Oh, yeah. Snoop and I just- Talk about that. You two are friends, right? We hit it off on my show originally. On my daily show that I had for, I think, six or eight years, I liked rap music. I was intrigued by the performers, by the ushers, the Puff Daddies, the Snoop Dogs.
Starting point is 00:47:12 I really kind of liked their characters. Why? They were, to me, kind of the future in entertainment. And I was right about that. And Puff Daddy, now P. Diddy, now whatever, he had a house out in East Hampton. He had a big white party every year I went to. We had so much fun at his parties.
Starting point is 00:47:34 He was a likable, very smart businessman. Usher was charming and talented. Snoop was charming and funny. And he was just an odd character. I thought he was much older than he was. He was 40 when I first met him. Did it start off as a business play? No, no, no, no. I just liked him and I invited him on the show and we made brownies and talked silly talk about pot and stuff. And then we were invited, both of us were invited, just I think by the producer of the Comedy Central Justin Bieber roast.
Starting point is 00:48:14 And that's where I got to really know him because for two days we were rehearsing and then on the day of the roast we had to sit next to each other for hours and hours in rehearsal. And we just talked and laughed and soup smoked the whole day. And I was just flying high because of secondhand smoke. And I just, I had the best time with that roast. And I was applauded for it. I was told by Susan Magrino, by my company, by the CEO, by everybody,
Starting point is 00:48:46 do not go and do that roast. Even my daughter said, mom, don't do the roast. Right. You're uncool. Well, no, yeah, I'm not cool. And it turned out I was really cool. That was a moment. The partnership feels authentic. The move was not calculated in any way. I like experiences. I like to try new things. Who else do you want to collaborate with? Who are you interested in now since you seem to see the future?
Starting point is 00:49:13 I haven't thought about that right now. I've been so busy doing the new Roku show and other business opportunities. You were in NFTs too, right? Oh, yeah. You started selling these in 2021. Immediately, we sold some of my photographs, some of my Halloween costume photographs as NFTs. And they were successful.
Starting point is 00:49:36 I feel sorry for the people who own them right now with the decline in the cryptocurrency world. But you just want to jump in and try it. I do. I think you have to jump in and try it. I do. I think you have to be where it's happening. You have a store with Amazon. Did you strike that partnership with Bezos? No, it wasn't with Bezos.
Starting point is 00:49:55 It was with the new management, of course. With the new management. And they're very enthusiastic. Are you worried about that? Are you worried about it? Many people who have brands are worried about being on Amazon for all kinds of reasons? Well, as retailers get less and less exciting, and there are many of them less and less. I mean, Macy's is in trouble.
Starting point is 00:50:16 And that was a very good outlet for me. Many other stores don't want brands. They want their own brands, in-house brands. So you have to find the right place to be at the right time. And Amazon has always been – I remember taking Jeff around my office early on and saying, Jeff, we should be your home. We should be home on Amazon. And he wasn't focused on it. Right.
Starting point is 00:50:43 He wasn't thinking home at that time. He was still in books. He was still just starting to get into merchandising. To music and stuff. Yeah. And that was a shame because that would have been the end all. So it would be Martha-zon. Martha-zon. Or Amazon Martha.
Starting point is 00:50:59 I don't quite have that expectation. Right. That doesn't work as well as Kay Martha, which is my favorite thing I've ever heard in my life right now. So let's finish up talking about Sports Illustrated. You said it's taken a lot of attention, but you look fantastic, if I may say. Did they pay you to do that? Oh, no. How does it work out?
Starting point is 00:51:17 How does that explain us? Because I don't know too many supermodels. Sports Illustrated is in the media business of magazines. Right. Sports Illustrated is in the media business of magazines. This is the 59th year of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue, which has traditionally been their biggest selling issue. Sure, 100%. I mean, Sports Illustrated is basically a male audience. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:51:37 And they created this swimsuit issue 60 years ago to appeal to men. More skin, the better. Less coverage, the better. Less coverage, the better. Sexy, sexy. And it's changed a little bit over the years, and especially this year, because I'm the oldest person ever to grace that cover. Yes, you have.
Starting point is 00:51:56 But they called in November and asked if I would do it. What did you say when the call came? I said, well, it was at the behest. I think MJ Day is the editor-in-chief of the magazine, What did you say when the content? I said, well, it was at the behest. I think MJ Day is the editor-in-chief of the magazine of that swimsuit issue. And she's always liked me, she said. And she thought I would be a good cover model. People know you were a model early in your life.
Starting point is 00:52:19 Yeah. And I started modeling when I was like 13 years old. So I'm comfortable in front of the camera. And I've been on many magazine covers and my own covers, whatever. But I was a little nervous because was I fit enough to be in a bathing suit on the cover of the magazine? So I went on a strict eating regimen and a very strict Pilates exercise regimen. And I went down to the Dominican and just did it. Just did it. Just did it. I got a spray tan for the first time in years.
Starting point is 00:52:51 How was that? Oh, it was okay. You have to stand there like naked in a tent and they spray you. They do. But it looks good. It looks really good. Yeah. And then I also had to, what else did I have to do?
Starting point is 00:53:01 Oh, first I had to get all waxed. You know, you have to wax your whole body. And then you have to get your hair. Because women don't have hair, in case you're interested. No, no, you I have to do? Oh, first I had to get all waxed. You have to wax your whole body. And then you have to get your hair. Because women don't have hair, in case you're interested. No, no, you cannot have any hair. And hair on your head, of course. Yeah. What's the feedback you've gotten over it? Susan Magrino just told me today it's between 90 and 100 billion impressions. And the feedback has been largely positive?
Starting point is 00:53:21 And they went back for a reprint on my cover. There were four cover models. And so that's exciting. People really want the cover. I've been signing a lot of covers. I get them in the mail every day, carefully wrapped FedEx from fans. And I sign them and send them back. Really? With self-addressed envelopes, of course.
Starting point is 00:53:41 They're very polite. These fans are so polite. So it's very exciting. And women have come up to me every day and just said, you made me feel really good about myself. And even Gayle King wrote to me and I said, next year you, Gayle. Yeah, right. So one of the things, headlines pointed out that at 81, you're the oldest woman to be on the cover, as you said. But you told in today's show, the whole aging thing is so boring. It is. It's very boring, and it doesn't have to be.
Starting point is 00:54:14 I don't talk about aging. I talk about living. I started a hospital at Mount Sinai called the Martha Stewart Center for Living, not for aging, Sinai called the Martha Stewart Center for Living, not for Aging, even though it is a geriatric-centered center for patients over 65 years old. But it's about living. So, presumably, you're not going to retire, correct? Because you think aging is irrelevant. I don't know what retirement is. I have never considered retiring. Have you? No. No.
Starting point is 00:54:43 No, I'm going to die. It's not in your DNA. No. And my mom didn't retire. She was still babysitting in her 90s and trusted, a trusted babysitter. So I want to be able to do whatever I want to do for as long as I can do it. You mentioned that you're having RJ Cutler and Netflix documentary coming out about your life. In making that doc, you must be thinking about legacy. What do you think your legacy will be? It's hard to tell at this present time, other than as a really good teacher with a lot of good ideas that have certainly helped millions and millions of people get
Starting point is 00:55:21 through the everyday. And earlier we talked about perfection, which is your favorite word, and about whether women can have it all. Do you think you have it all? You have a very nice house, by the way. Oh, this is just, this is not my house. Oh, I know. This is a small house where I would live in very happily for the rest of my life. This is our guest house. I get it, Martha. I'm just saying. We feel like schlubs just being here, I have to say. Oh, you do not. Your bowl collection alone has shamed us.
Starting point is 00:55:47 Oh, isn't it great? But is there anything missing in your life? I have a pretty full life. I have a pretty active life. I think the only thing I really, really miss is more travel. I really want to travel more. And I recently got back from a fantastic trip to Saudi Arabia, which was unusual and well done and very informative. I went to Madagascar for Christmas with my grandchildren and my daughter. The year before was Antarctica. The year before that was – Oh, so you do travel.
Starting point is 00:56:22 Oh, yeah, but not enough. I want to do more travel. But I don't want to go, yeah, but not enough. I want to do more travel. But I don't want to go to places I've already been. I want to go other places. All right. So, Martha AI? Yes. I'm on my way.
Starting point is 00:56:34 Okay. Thank you, Martha. It's been a delight. It's been a delight. It's on! She was unapologetically perfect. She is. I love that.
Starting point is 00:56:46 She didn't back down on anything. Remote work? Fuck you. Fuck you, says Martha. Get into the office. I'm there. And she is. That's the thing.
Starting point is 00:56:54 She does work. You can't take care of your children? Have another child. Another child to take care of your children. You know, I also struggle with this work from home thing. From my perspective, work from wherever, but work. Yeah, it's an interesting challenge. And I think it's become a thing that isn't, it's not about work from home.
Starting point is 00:57:11 It's about work. It's about that they think they work too much. And that's a different thing. And then you have to make decisions for yourself, for sure. But Martha Stewart works all the time. She works all the time. In this house, you can see that. By the way, if you work a lot, you can have a house like this.
Starting point is 00:57:23 That's right. And then you can work from home. I work a lot and I don't have a house like this. That's right. And then you can work from home. I work a lot and I don't have a house like this. So I don't know what you're talking about. You have a pretty nice house, Kara. Not like this house. Yeah, this house is very fancy. We're in Martha Stewart's house.
Starting point is 00:57:32 We're going to say that. Yes. I mean, she is a force. And I appreciate that she's authentic and she says what she thinks. Because in that world of perfection, and she kind of mentioned I didn't fail, but you could try to smooth over everything, paper over everything. She definitely doesn't do that. She reminds me a lot of tech entrepreneurs
Starting point is 00:57:48 and she was a techie because she had that attitude like just keep going. And I think that's her, she drove and drove and drove. And you could see that from the very beginning of her career was constantly achieving and just having a drive and an ambition that met together. You could often have ambition without drive
Starting point is 00:58:04 and it never works and And she has both. That's why she's constantly reinvented herself despite what are clear setbacks. Notice she didn't like the word fail. She didn't. She said, I didn't fail. It's not perfect to fail. But she has had what one would consider failures
Starting point is 00:58:16 and she doesn't see them as that. And that's often what you see in entrepreneurs. It's not a failure, it's a setback or it's a pivot. Even though she doesn't like that word, she's got the soul of an entrepreneur for sure. I love that story of her taking the money from the Kmart deal and buying out the okay guys from Time. Like I can picture it in an Italian leather bag. And people didn't do that.
Starting point is 00:58:44 I think to appreciate what she did at the time, she was often pilloried for being aggressive and grabby because she was a woman. And I remember hearing that. I'm like, what's so grabby about she was a woman. And I remember hearing that. I'm like, what's so grabby about she made it? She should do it. Yeah. Including the complaints about like she's too perfect. I'm like, well, then don't look at it. Like I used to think, okay, so?
Starting point is 00:58:56 But I liked her rationale for that. It's like not everyone maybe can make this cake. But you could know how to make that cake. Or you could. And so that was, you know, unapologetic. It's a very good way of putting it. And yet she also did seem to care about being liked. I mean, she mentioned if you don't get liked, what good are you? Here's who she likes is her audience.
Starting point is 00:59:12 Her fans and audience is who she likes. She noted that her fans are very polite. She minds her fans. And I think she's almost populist in a weird way. And not unlike a lot of people like that is that they don't care about the critics. They care about their fans. Yeah. And whatever they're making for the people that consume their stuff. She's resilient. Her brand has been resilient.
Starting point is 00:59:30 She just does what she does, and she does it beautifully. And you can either like it or not. And I do think she got a lot of things very early right about genuineness or authenticity. I think she got it on excellence. I think she got it on fan base. She was always super early to ideas. And she's not scared of new ideas at all. And I think very few people in media have the openness that she does. And that's why I've always liked Martha.
Starting point is 00:59:55 When you think about meeting her for that first time and kind of knowing her over the many years, her attending code in the early aughts to now, she's the same? She's the same. She's the same. She's the same. The first thing I said to her is, what the fuck are you doing here? Like, what? Because everyone sort of walked around her because nobody wanted to go up to her,
Starting point is 01:00:12 but I went right up to her. I had our magazine. I swear I put the Stewart. Yes, I Stewart her. Can I just say, I, for a second, took my glass off the coaster. Oh, okay. You thought, oh, no.
Starting point is 01:00:20 Martha picked it up and put it back. Oh, did she? She put it back. I was surprised she was there, but she was curious, and nobody else was. So let me say, oh, no. Martha picked it up and put it back. Oh, did she? She put it back. I was surprised she was there, but she was curious. And nobody else was. So let me say, she was there. She did the work. I love that she was early on to tech.
Starting point is 01:00:32 And I think Martha AI, she's got to do it. Great idea. It's a great idea. I mean, if I could be in my kitchen talking to Martha AI. She's got so much content. She has so much good content. I remember when, I think it was Time, started Real Simple, which was sort of a knockoff of Martha. I'm sure she was furious. I didn't ask her about it. I used to call it Really Simply Stupid because it was all stupid things. It's like,
Starting point is 01:00:52 you should take bleach to make things white. And I was like, Martha would not do this. I think a lot of influencers and people like that owe a debt of gratitude to someone like her. There's several people like her that didn't have the tools at the time. But if she was 20 years old today, she'd be a TikTok star. Yeah. I mean, she helped create a category that has become the defining category. Influencer and fan base. Also, home.
Starting point is 01:01:15 Home. Home has become a huge category in a big way. But she's got to get that Martha AI before someone else does it. And people like her because you get to an old lady position in life as I am moving into. You're not an old lady position. I'm moving into it. People tend to like you better. And she's playing that well.
Starting point is 01:01:29 Yeah. She's like, yeah, whatever. I'm an old lady. People don't like young ladies. I can tell you that. They do not like young ladies. She's getting into that hip old lady territory. She has to do the Martha AI
Starting point is 01:01:37 before someone else does it because- She'll do it. Don't worry. With Esther Perel, a friend of ours. I feel like she would do it. Someone went rogue and made an Esther bot. Well, they're going to get sued. An Esther AI.
Starting point is 01:01:46 They're going to get sued. It's kind of quietly. Yeah. But it's a better idea than K-Martha, that Martha AI, I think. I love K-Martha. Really? Who would have thought of that? K-Martha.
Starting point is 01:01:54 Her. She thought of that. She would have thought of that. She is creative. She's always working. She came up with 10 ideas here. I know. It's really interesting.
Starting point is 01:02:00 I'm going to have to go monetize some of them right now. All right. Do you want to read us out? Yes. Here from the beautiful guest house of Martha Stewart, which is just not the real house. It's the tiny, tiny guest house. But it's a good thing. Today's show was produced by Naima Raza, Blakeney Schick, Christian Castro-Rossell, Megan Cunane, and Megan Burney.
Starting point is 01:02:18 Special thanks to Mary Mathis. Our engineers are Fernando Arruda and Rick Kwan. Our theme music is by Trackademics. If you're already following the show, you get an avocado. If not, you're stuck in aisle eight of K Martha. Go wherever you listen to podcasts, search for On with Kara Swisher and hit follow. Thanks for listening to On with Kara Swisher from New York Magazine, the Vox Media Podcast Network, and us.
Starting point is 01:02:40 How do we just stay in this house forever? We're going to just stay. We're not leaving here. We're not leaving here. This house is much better than my apartment. We're going to be squatters at Martha Stewart's estate in Bedford, New York. It'd be odd when our guests come here for tapings, but it's okay. Support for this show is brought to you by Nissan Kicks. It's never too late to try new things.
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