Randi Zuckerberg to Host Technology Show on SiriusXM

Former Facebook Inc. executive Randi Zuckerberg – sister of Facebook’s founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg — has spent the last several years writing books and blogs posts decoding cutting-edge technology.

Now she is embracing a retro medium: satellite radio.

This summer Ms. Zuckerberg will begin hosting a weekly hour-long show on SiriusXM’s “Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School” channel, focusing on the intersection between lifestyle and technology.

An episode that will air during New York’s Fashion Week in September will focus on wearable technology, for example, while other shows may address topics like dating and parenting in the digital age, issues she addresses in her “Dot Complicated” book and site.

Ms. Zuckerberg said she learned how to host live shows while at Facebook, where she launched and moderated a series of live events that featured celebrity guests from pop star Katy Perry to President Barack Obama and encouraged audience participation via social media.

“Kanye West danced on a table,” she recalled.

But “audio is a new medium for me,” she said, and given the increase in distracting mobile and tablet screens, “audio is the rare last frontier when you get someone’s undivided attention,” enabling a “longer conversation that you can ever have on video.”

As for her brother, she said she does not plan to invite him on the show, at least not initially.
“I don’t want the show to play as an ad for Facebook – we’ll see what the audience wants,” she said, adding that her “very recognizable last name has opened a lot of doors, but it’s also a huge shadow that’s always there.”