Megan Rapinoe to Launch 'Why Are You Like This?' Podcast
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- Megan Rapinoe is launching "Why Are You Like This?," a weekly interview podcast produced and distributed by Vox Media, premiering Thursday, Aug. 6 with episodes available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and other platforms.
- "Why Are You Like This?" will run about one hour per episode and feature Rapinoe's conversations with artists, athletes, activists and "architects of culture," spanning "the personal and the professional, the origin story and the long game" per Vox Media.
- Rapinoe, a two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist who won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, declined to reveal her first guest but said she is "interested in everybody's lived experience."
- "Why Are You Like This?" will occasionally touch on women's sports, including the 2027 Women's World Cup, but Rapinoe said the scope is "much broader than sports alone," focused on people with influence on culture.
- Rapinoe previously co-hosted "A Touch More" with pro basketball player Sue Bird, also produced with Vox Media; she continues producing under that banner after announcing her separation from Bird in April.
- Vox Media's podcast network — now owned by James Murdoch's Lupa Systems following a May acquisition valued at more than $300 million that also brought New York Magazine and Vox.com — counts Kara Swisher, Maria Sharapova, Preet Bharara and Brené Brown among its hosts.
- PMC, parent of Variety, is separately acquiring other Vox Media digital brands including Eater, The Verge, SB Nation, Popsugar, The Dodo, Punch and Thrillist.
Why it matters: Vox Media's podcast network is doubling down on celebrity-hosted interview shows, slotting Rapinoe alongside Kara Swisher, Maria Sharapova and Preet Bharara — a strategy now backed by James Murdoch's Lupa Systems after its $300M+ May acquisition of the network, New York Magazine and Vox.com.
