CAFE (media company)
CAFE is a media venture developed in partnership between former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and Some Spider Studios.[1] CAFE projects are inspired by Bharara's life and work: strengthening democracy and exploring issues of justice and the rule of law.
 | |
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York, New York , United States |
| Owner | Some Spider, Inc. |
| Key people | Vinit Bharara, Bryan Carmel, Paul Smurl, Rob Whisman, Blake Zeff |
| Industry | News and Entertainment |
| URL | www |
| Current status | Active |
In association with CAFE, Bharara has two weekly podcasts: Stay Tuned with Preet and CAFE Insider. Stay Tuned with Preet is the flagship podcast of CAFE, breaking down legal topics in the news and engaging thought leaders in discussions.
Stay Tuned has been praised by The New York Times as “a salve, an indulgence, a lifeline.”[2] Past guests include 2020 presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, Julian Castro, and Michael Bennet, journalists Ronan Farrow, Nina Totenberg, Maggie Haberman, and George Packer, historians Robert Caro and Michael Beschloss, national security experts Michael Morell, Leon Panetta, and Ben Rhodes, directors Alex Gibney, Adam McKay, and Judd Apatow, Chief Executive of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband, Equal Justice Initiative founder and executive director Bryan Stevenson, and Hermitage Capital Management founder and Magnitsky Act advocate Bill Browder.
Bharara co-hosts the CAFE Insider, a subscription-based podcast with former New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram, where the two former prosecutors provide legal commentary and analysis of the latest political and legal news.
History
CAFE is part of Some Spider, a digital media and entertainment company backed by Marc Lore and Vinit Bharara.
Its content team includes Blake Zeff (formerly of BuzzFeed, MSNBC & Salon), Bryan Carmel (formerly head of comedy at Fusion) and Rob Whisman (referred to by CollegeHumor as "the funniest person on Twitter").[3]
Notable projects
Carl Diggler
Carl Diggler is a fictional American journalist created by CAFE who became a viral sensation during the 2016 United States presidential election.[4][5] Diggler, a middle-aged, centrist pundit who prides himself on his "Inside the Beltway" knowledge of the Washington, D.C. political scene, is the purported author of a column published at CAFE and a keen, if clueless, Twitter user. Portrayed as a smug, ignorant blowhard, the character comments on political news and delves into backstory from his personal life, particularly the details of his failed marriage and protracted family court proceedings for custody of his son Colby. Diggler also hosts The DigCast, a podcast featuring weekly guests and Carl's millennial intern.
Girl Friday
Girl Friday is a podcast hosted by Erin Gloria Ryan, co-hosted by Amanda Duarte, and produced by Briana Haynie, in which they talk about news of the week and their lives, with a new guest each week. The podcast has received positive reviews, and reached #59 on the iTunes chart in early 2017.[6]
According to AV Club's Podmass:
If ever there was a podcast buoyed purely by the strength of its hosts' personalities, this is it. While there are currently a glut of shows in which a handful of media types prate about the news, Girl Friday is something more—more interesting and more entertaining, thanks to the charisma and comity of the three women at the center of the show. The Daily Beast's Erin Gloria Ryan might be the most recognizable name, but without Amanda Duarte and Briana Haynie on the mics beside her, the show's alchemy would be off. In this bonus episode, the trio sit at a literal kitchen table in D.C. immediately after participating in protest history, and they share their experiences with emotion, empathy, irreverence, and a surprising amount of scatological humor. Laughter is a major element of the show, as is particularly evidenced in a recent episode featuring Teen Vogue's Lauren Duca. The hosts obviously enjoy each other's company, and it's infectious. Girl Friday is an intelligent show for intelligent people who nonetheless enjoy stupid jokes about national tragedies.
Todd Dracula Cuts the News
Todd Dracula Cuts the News is a daily series of short videos in which internet personality Todd Dracula edits existing news clips in order to highlight their absurdity and add comic effect.
Todd Dracula got his start repurposing existing videos on Vine, creating viral vines such as the Drake "I'm from Toronto" vine and the Alex Jones "Gay Frogs" vine. Todd Dracula is most known for his Alex Jones and Donald Trump edits, including "Alex Jones Uncovers Pickle-Gate" and "Marty McFly Drag Races Donald Trump." His work has been featured on Huffington Post,[7] Gothamist[8] and New York Magazine.[9]
Al Roker vs. Billy Bush
Al Roker vs. Billy Bush is an edited video by CAFE's Matt Binder that went viral in August 2016. The video highlighted a disagreement about Olympian Ryan Lochte between Today hosts Al Roker and Billy Bush, by zooming in on Roker angrily stirring his drink during their debate, and adding comedic effects.[10]
The video was covered in various publications like Huffington Post, Variety and the Today Show itself, and drew attention to the tension between the hosts.
CAFE Crashes
CAFE Crashes is a comedic investigative journalism video series in which a CAFE reporter travels to a major event to highlight its absurdity or uncover its problematic nature. Events covered in the series include an interview with Democratic National Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz at a Presidential Debate in April, 2016, that went viral after host Blake Zeff exposed the politician's hypocrisy regarding political debates. In the video, Zeff asks Wasserman Schultz to explain why debates are vital to democracy, before getting her to refuse to commit to debating her own primary opponent, Tim Canova. After the video went viral, Canova used it in a political ad for his candidacy.[11]
Other popular videos in the series include dispatches from the 2016 Democratic National Convention, the 2017 Presidential Inauguration and the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).[12] In the 2017 CPAC video, CAFE's Rob Whisman interviews numerous participants of the conference and cannot contain his misery at being there.
In July 2016, CAFE Crashes investigated an alleged residential water poisoning cover up in Hoosick Falls, NY, which included interviews with politicians at the State Capitol.[13] Following the release of the video, a public legislative hearing took place instead of the planned governor-appointed commission that was criticized in the video.[14]
References
- Chowdhry, Amit. "Some Spider Studios: The Story Behind How Vinit Bharara Built A Massive Media Company". Forbes.
- Senior, Jennifer. "Preet Bharara's Lessons on Crime and Punishment". The New York Times.
- Snow, Ross. "16 Times This Guy Was The Funniest Person On Twitter". CollegeHumor.
- Brawley, Eddie (1 March 2016). "This Election's Best Pundit Is a Fake Columnist Named Carl Diggler". Splitsider. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- Reisman, Sam. "A Bizarre Fictional Character Accurately Predicted the Election. Its Creators Explain How". www.mediaite.com. Mediaite.
- .fm, Podbay. "Reviews of Girl Friday". Podbay.fm. Podbay. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- Moran, Lee (25 March 2017). "Trucker Donald Trump Goes 'Back To The Future' In Hilarious Mashup". Huffington Post.
- Yakas, Ben. "These Vines Deserve To Be Preserved In The Vine Hall Of Fame For Eternity". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- Feldman, Brian (November 19, 2015). "Welcome to the Vine Election". NY Magazine.
- Kelley, Seth (20 August 2016). "Al Roker Slams Ryan Lochte and Confronts Billy Bush in Viral Video: 'He Lied'". Variety.
- Canova, Tim (9 July 2016). "#DebbieDodgesDebate". YouTube. Tim Canova for Congress. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- Binder, Matt (2 March 2017). "Cafe Crashes CPAC". YouTube. CAFE.
- Zeff, Blake; Binder, Matt; Isquith, Elias; Ludvigsen, Edward. "A water crisis and an alleged cover-up in Hoosick Falls: CAFE crashes the New York statehouse". Salon (July 5, 2016).
- Mckinley, Jesse (30 August 2016). "After Months of Anger in Hoosick Falls, Hearings on Tainted Water Begin". The New York Times.