Vox Media Acquires Cafe Studios, Preet Bharara’s Podcast-First Media Company

Vox Media has announced the acquisition of Cafe Studios, the podcast-first publisher that explores how law and policy intersect with politics, news, business, history, and technology. 

 Since its founding in 2017, Cafe has developed a slate of well-received podcasts, including its flagship Stay Tuned with Preet, from Cafe co-founder, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and New York Times bestselling author Preet Bharara. 

Cafe Studios is also known for the Insider membership, a fast-growing subscription program that offers tens of thousands of listeners exclusive podcasts, newsletters, articles, and live events. The deal continues to build and scale the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Preetinder Bharara is an American lawyer, author, and former federal prosecutor who served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017. 

Upon the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, Bharara was dismissed after refusing to submit his resignation as part of the 2017 dismissal of U.S. attorneys. After leaving government, he went into academia by joining New York University School of Law's criminal justice faculty. He authored his first book, Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law, in 2019. 

 

Stay Tuned podcast logo

 Cafe Studios is Vox Media’s fourth recent merger or acquisition; since 2019, the company has acquired Epic, the film, television, audio, and production studio; acquired Coral, the inclusive commenting platform; and merged with the publisher of the iconic, 53-year-old New York Magazine and influential digital properties including the Cut and Vulture. During that time, the company has expanded the Vox Media Podcast Network by launching new shows such as Chicano Squad, Vox’s Unexplainable, and Recode’s Land of the Giants, and welcoming popular programs including Switched on Pop and Scott Galloway’s The Prof G Show

“Preet and his team at Cafe have built a successful podcast studio with a compelling perspective — and an equally impressive community of devoted listeners,” says Vox Media Chairman, CEO, and co-founder Jim Bankoff in the company's release announcement. “Bringing Cafe into the Vox Media Podcast Network is aligned with our goal of delivering high-quality editorial content at scale and providing audiences highly relevant voices and insights.”

Cafe Studios is an independent podcast-focused company initially co-founded by Preet and his brother Vinit Bharara, a serial entrepreneur who founded Some Spider Studios and Diapers.com. Preet Bharara and Tamara Sepper, who serves as the Executive Producer and Head of Content, will join Vox Media along with a team of podcast hosts, producers, and product developers. 

Cafe will operate as a division of the Vox Media Podcast Network, continuing to produce its active slate of shows, with new shows in development this year. Vox Media will also continue to invest in growing the Insider membership program and will explore additional membership opportunities across the Vox Media Podcast Network. 

“This is an opportunity for tremendous growth with a company that shares in Cafe’s mission, values, and commitment to quality,” says Bharara. “Our creators are bursting at the seams with plans for more thoughtful, educational content and, in Vox Media, we earn a partner with a large audience, strategic business, and a strong reach across text, video, and events.”  

Vox Media Podcast Network is home to more than 200 podcasts and top-notch talent, such as Today, Explained’s Sean Rameswaram, Decoder’s Nilay Patel, and Pivot co-hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway.

 Vox offers its audience one of the diverse editorial properties including Vox, New York Magazine, The Verge, The Cut, Eater, Vulture, The Strategist, Polygon, SB Nation, Intelligencer, Curbed, Grub Street, and Recode. 

 You can listen to Vox's podcasts via the Vox Media Podcast Network.

 

 

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