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Colbert Canceled: Is Late Night TV Over? | Pivot

Kara and Scott discuss the Coldplay Kiss Cam moment that captivated the nation, and launched a thousand memes. What does the incident reveal about work relationships, and letting your guard down in public? Then, Trump sues Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal for defamation. Who will emerge victorious in this legal battle? Plus, CBS cancels "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," and insists the decision was purely financial, and not related to Paramount's Trump settlement.#karaswisher #scottgalloway #pivotpodcast #colbert #latenight #coldplay #kisscam #ceos #affairs #trump #rupertmurdoch #murdoch #wallstreetjournal #CBS #lateshow #stephencolbert #paramount #business #tech #media #politics Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 0:23 The Coldplay Moment 16:47 Colbert Cancellation 29:05 Trump Sues Murdoch and Wall Street Journal 38:33 Trump Can’t Quit SpaceX 46:58 Wins and Fails Producers: Lara Naaman Zoë Marcus Taylor Griffin Kevin Oliver Audio Engineer: Ernie Indradat Vox Media's Executive Producer of Podcasts: Nishat Kurwa Subscribe to Pivot on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pivot/id1073226719 Subscribe to Pivot on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4MU3RFGELZxPT9XHVwTNPR Follow us on Instagram and Threads at: https://www.instagram.com/pivotpodcastofficial Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@PIVOTPODCAST Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot

Scott GallowayhostKara Swisherhost
Jul 22, 202557mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:000:23

    Intro

    1. SG

      This isn't the end of The Colbert Show, Kara. This is the end of late night television.

    2. KS

      (instrumental music) Hi, everyone. This is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Kara Swisher.

    3. SG

      And I'm Scott Galloway.

    4. KS

      We got a lot to get to today, including Trump suing Rupert Murdoch and CBS canceling Colbert. I know you have a lot of thoughts on this. But, uh, it's really hard not

  2. 0:2316:47

    The Coldplay Moment

    1. KS

      to talk about the Coldplay situation, the cold playing of it all. The CEO of data ops platform Astronomer, I don't know why it was called Astronomer, Andy Byron has resigned after being caught on camera at a Coldplay concert having an intimate moment with the company's head of HR. You literally cannot make this up. "We had our own steamy date at Coldplay, caught on camera, which people can see on our socials." As listeners pointed out, of course, "You're the small spoon, Scott." Another commenter said, "I would let Kara swaddle the fuck out of me." One more, someone said, "Scott would be an awful head of HR. He would have to call himself to his office on a daily basis for the latest inappropriate joke." I mean, what do you think of this thing? This was, this is a phenomena, menomena.

    2. SG

      Well, first off, I mean, distinct of all the humor and the-

    3. KS

      Yeah.

    4. SG

      ... uh, uh, the reality is-

    5. KS

      It's good humor. Good humor.

    6. SG

      ... the reality is a mother who trusted this guy, who thought she'd found the love of her life-

    7. KS

      Yeah.

    8. SG

      ... and was raising children with someone-

    9. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    10. SG

      ... found out in the worst way possible-

    11. KS

      The worst.

    12. SG

      ... that he's a fan of Coldplay.

    13. KS

      (laughs) I knew that-

    14. SG

      Aah.

    15. KS

      I knew. I was like-

    16. SG

      Aah.

    17. KS

      ... "Where is he going?" 'Cause he could care less.

    18. SG

      Aah. Look, I-

    19. KS

      Anyway. Coldplay was a little bit embarrassing. I have to say, I would agree. I would agree.

    20. SG

      Whatever. He works for Astronomer. He, he was studying Uranus. Um...

    21. KS

      Oh.

    22. SG

      Oh, no.

    23. KS

      Oh, how long did you wait for that one?

    24. SG

      No, no.

    25. KS

      How long?

    26. SG

      Okay, I'll be serious.

    27. KS

      Did you s-

    28. SG

      I'll be serious for a question. I always go... I think it reflects something kind of weird about our society.

    29. KS

      Yeah.

    30. SG

      Shaming, I think a lot about shaming-

  3. 16:4729:05

    Colbert Cancellation

    1. KS

      in Scott's jam. Anyway, let's move on, 'cause this is interesting, 'cause we like being independent, and this is why. CBS insists the decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was purely financial and had nothing to do with the other matters happening at Paramount, which is acquiescing Donald Trump and paying him a bribe. Colbert broke the news last week that his show would end next May. This was just days after calling Paramount's, uh, $16 million settlement with Trump a big, fat bribe, which is accurate. Also worth noting, Skydance CEO Della- David Ellison met with Trump-appointed FCC chair Brandon Carr earlier in the week. I'm not sure those things are related, but, because he's in the middle of a merger. The Writers Guild of America is calling for an investigation, calling the cancellation appears to be a bribe to curry favor with the Trump administration to, to s- to pass this merger. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are also questioning the timing and motivation of the decision without proof. I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be pretty fair here, because I- I- I don't know what's going on. W- what do you think is happening? There were reports, uh, which th- we all know about, they acknowledged the financials, ad revenue for Colbert has dropped 40% since 2018. The show had reportedly been losing $40 million a year. I'm not sure I believe those numbers. I think it's not making as much money and they're, the salaries are high and the, and the, and- and late night is declining, no question. Um, I, the other shows, um, obviously Kimmel and, um, Fallon allegedly lose money. I don't know, and I don't know if they're figuring in ancillary things or whatever. They may just be doing a... I don't, I'd like to see the actual numbers myself before they make that claim. Um, Daily Show airs on Comedy Central, which is also owned by Paramount, but the others, Fallon and others, and- and Seth Meyers. Seth Meyers had to get rid of the band, I think, in order to keep going. COVID hit these con- these shows very hard, and so did the...... the, the, the fracturing of the monoculture that we used to have. Now everybody could do this and are, are listened to by more people than the ... I think he had 2.4 million people watching him, um, which is a b- which is a hefty sum. But still, the economics weren't right apparently. Your thoughts?

    2. SG

      Well, first off, the Writers Guild Association should announce an investigation about how they could be so fucking stupid as to go on strike for five and a half months from a position of total weakness. But anyways ...

    3. KS

      Yeah. Mm-hmm.

    4. SG

      Okay. This is a situation where I immediately thought, "All right. Another example of our slow descent into fascism as the president puts pressure on media, and, uh, attempts to leverage his FTC or DOJ approval, uh, uh, in exchange for getting rid of a critic." I did the research, and I think I'm wrong. I really do think this was a financial decision. If you look at the numbers, 2018 late night TV was 400 million in advertising.

    5. KS

      Yeah.

    6. SG

      It's gone to 200 million.

    7. KS

      Two and a half, yep.

    8. SG

      Uh, supposedly the numbers on this show is-

    9. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    10. SG

      ... it costs $100 million to produce, and it makes $60 million. It's losing $40 million a year. Do you know how many people work-

    11. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    12. SG

      ... on Colbert?

    13. KS

      A lot.

    14. SG

      Do you know how many professionals they have?

    15. KS

      A lot.

    16. SG

      200.

    17. KS

      Yeah.

    18. SG

      So just let me ... I, I never miss an opportunity to pat ourselves on the back, but let's compare the economics of our universe versus theirs. P- Pivot and the Profji universe will do somewhere between $20 and $25 million next year. I would say we have between, let's call it, 15-

    19. KS

      At the most.

    20. SG

      ... 15 full-time employees. Well, there are some people at Vox on our ads.

    21. KS

      Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

    22. SG

      I have a bunch of people doing, you know ...

    23. KS

      Yeah, you're right. You're right.

    24. SG

      Let's call it 15 people. 200 people at $60 million is $300,000 per employee. We're doing one and a half million dollars per employee, and we're growing 20% a year. They're doing $300,000 per employee and shrinking 20% a year. And this is what I think happened, Kara. I think Skydance, and I've been a part of this, when they acquired the company, they said-

    25. KS

      They have not yet acquired the company. They, they have ... It's not-

    26. SG

      But-

    27. KS

      Yeah.

    28. SG

      But during diligence-

    29. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    30. SG

      ... and to, to get the deal closed, part of the conditions on closing are like-

  4. 29:0538:33

    Trump Sues Murdoch and Wall Street Journal

    1. KS

      Journal. Good luck with that, old crocodile Trump. Scott, we're back. President Trump is suing Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal over the... over... for defamation over a story about the birthday letter that Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein in 20... 2003. The article claimed Trump wrote a letter that included a suggestive drawing for Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump is denying that it was from... saying, quote, "I don't draw pictures." In fact, he does. There's a dozen of them a- available for you to look at, and he's not bad. The lawsuit names Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp, News Corp's CEO, and two reporters and seeks at least $10 billion in damages. Trump has ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce grand jury testimony tied to the Epstein case, b- uh, which is a nothing burger. Bondi has asked a federal judge to unseal the transcripts. Um, Trump and Murdoch are two men who love a legal fight. Um, I'm betting on, uh, Murdoch and also, just so you know, you said last week Trump would do all manner of things to distract from Epstein, which he's been doing. This is included in an additional lawsuit. He's now threatened to hold up stadium deal for the Washington Commanders. Um, he also posted a bizarre AI video of Obama getting arrested and put up... well, you, you, you put up a number of these. He's continuing to blame Democrats for the Epstein mess. Let's listen to what Senator Amy Klobuchar had to say about that to Jake Tapper on CNN this weekend.

    2. NA

      So the president blaming Democrats for this disaster, Jake, is like that CEO that got caught on camera blaming Coldplay, okay? Like, this is his making. He was president when Epstein got indicted for these charges and went to prison. He was president when Epstein committed suicide.

    3. KS

      And also, he was a close friend of, of Epstein's (laughs) for many... for a decade or more. Um, any thoughts on this? And, and a new... the last thing is CBS-YoGov poll finds that 75% of Americans disapprove of the administration's handling of matters related to Epstein. So it's still, as, as I noted, it's sticking around. It's not going away. Uh, and it's, uh... ev-... this weekend, pretty much every major newspaper had very, uh, very detailed, um, stories, which I told you, linking Trump to Epstein. So i- it's solidifying in at least the minds of-... regular people, uh, about how close they were. So, where do you, what do you think about the Murdoch thing and then the distraction element?

    4. SG

      Well, in reverse order. We said this last week, and it's happening. Every 24 hours, put out something stupid that the media will go for. So, well, I won't let you n- change the name, uh, that, w- uh, w- I won't improve a new stadium unless you take the Commanders back to the Redskins. Stupid, makes no sense, the media goes for it. That's, okay, it, it does, uh, first off, we should just refer to it, the new team there or the team there as the Washington Epsteins.

    5. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    6. SG

      And it's, it's not Rosie O'Donnell-

    7. KS

      (laughs)

    8. SG

      ... it's Rosie O. Epstein.

    9. KS

      (laughs)

    10. SG

      All, we, we just need to make sure that he knows-

    11. KS

      (laughs)

    12. SG

      ... this is not working. And-

    13. KS

      Yeah.

    14. SG

      ... he has no intention of demanding that they change the name.

    15. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    16. SG

      He ha- he, this is un- unlike the other s- uh, uh, uh, cases, nuisance lawsuits, I think he knows, I think Murdoch does not scare easily. This is actually, I think, good for Murdoch, 'cause it gives people-

    17. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    18. SG

      ... the impression that Murdoch and his properties are somewhat bipartisan and somewhat have-

    19. KS

      Well, just that one part- particularly. Yeah.

    20. SG

      Well, yeah, but he's a c-

    21. KS

      He, he, he uses the Post to slap-

    22. SG

      ... it's Rupert Murdoch.

    23. KS

      Yeah. I think he uses different properties for different things. Like, Fox News has been very slow on reporting this stuff, the Epstein stuff. New York Post is just either attacking Mamdani or, or n- not really doing anything here. The Journal does, I ha- I have to say, he's done a great job shepherding the Wall Street Journal and letting them be. But go ahead.

    24. SG

      When the Wall Street Journal puts out this reporting, similar to when it, uh, uh ... The Wall Street Journal was the first, I think, the first media outlet where people thought, "Wow, uh, this reporting l- lends me to believe that the wealthiest man in the world is in fact a drug addict." Because the, the general sense of the Wall Street Journal is that they are serious journalists and that if they put out something like this, they have double, double and triple-checked it. And they have, you know, they are not just throwing out shit for clicks. So this really hurts the president. I think the president says, "If I challenge it, it gives the impression that it's not true." But I don't think this will end up like the other cases where they end up settling. I think Rupert Murdoch is gonna stick up the middle finger and this'll be, this'll be dismissed.

    25. KS

      Which is what he wanted to do. He's tried to get at him. The, there, there's an idea because Fox News is so smart with the president that Murdoch is. Murdoch is not. Like, let's be, they, all that discovery during that last trial where they were very culpable of what they did around Dominion, uh, Systems, um, it was all these emails saying, "Trump's a fucking asshole," including from, dr- Tucker Carlson, by the way, um, all the internal e- emails and stuff. I think that Murdoch has been sitting in the shallows like an old crocodile that he is, waiting to get at Trump. He does not like this Republican Party. He likes the Republican Party he can control, which is the old Republican Party, right? And so Trump is, is not that. And so I think he's just been waiting here. Very much so, the, uh, Bob Woodward was sued by the, Trump and the judge knocked it out. Like, he's not giving. There's nothing, w- someone was like, "Oh, well, what about Paramount giving? What about CBS giving?" There's nothing he can do to Rupert Murdoch. He can't really pull, someone was like, "They could pull Fox's ..." Good luck with doing that. Like, the stuff he can, he, he can put the screws even to Elon, although it's hard because of s- we'll talk about that in a minute. It's harder to put the screws to Murdoch of, the things ... He's also 109 years old. I don't think this old crocodile gives a fuck. And he wants Trump gone so he can then control, um, Vance or whoever the next one is. His company, he wants control of that person, and he wants Trump gone. And so I think he's not gonna give at all. I'd be shocked if he gave. He wouldn't allow it to happen if, at that, at that public ... I can see all the problems at Fox 'cause they're so sloppy. They're not sloppy at the Wall Street Journal and they would never have published this without all the receipts, never. In my experience, their ex- spectacular journalism goes on there.

    26. SG

      Because old media is held to a much higher standard because of Section 230 where they can, where Facebook can circulate massive rumors about Dominion and Smartmatic, uh, that makes what was said on Fox look like a dumpster fire and be immune from that, and then Fox has to pay three-quarters of a billion dollars. You can bet the lawyers and Rupert Murdoch had said, "Okay, any story like this, it better be right, because I've got a three-quarter of a billion dollar scar" (laughs) "from when we decided to tell our anchors to continue to lie about this, knowing that it was a lie." They have been, their eyebrows have been singed and burnt off. So the fact that they were willing to say this and in a pretty aggressive ... I mean, it just makes the president look bad, right?

    27. KS

      Yeah, they did a follow-up this week about, more about their relationship, but go ahead.

    28. SG

      And so what he said is, one, "I want a distraction," and two, "I n-" He needs a distraction every 24 hours, and that's what he's doing right now. Every 24 hours, he is in a room with AI and his comms people saying, "Testing, all these ridiculous stories, do they make us look like idiots? Will we win in court? Doesn't matter. Will it distract CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, and everyone else from, from Epstein's and they'll talk about this?" A ch- a letter firing Chairman Powell, changing the name of a football fi- I mean, these things are so ridiculous. If anyone believes this is anything but a weapon of mass distraction, I don't think they understand this guy's, this guy's strategy. And this is that again. This, unlike the other ones, he has no leverage. Like you said, Rupert does not scare easily. He doesn't care. He's gonna be dead soon. I mean, he's, he, this will be, and also, I think, I think Rupert's the big winner here. I think it comes across as kind of pursuing the truth and as, uh, uh, legitimate, you know, overseeing legitimate journalism. I think, I think News Corp or Rupert, if you will, is the big winner here.

    29. KS

      He has long backed editors at the Journal. When they did those, uh, Christian Grein who's now at the New York Times, they did those initial Elon stories. That was a big step out, like, when they did that. And they are, they do not sh- remember they did the one where Elon had slept with Sergey's wife thing? They stepped out on that one. And they stepped, they will, and they will only do it when it is lockdown at the Wall Street Journal. And again, Emma Tucker, the current editor, is fantastic. They've had great editors in the past. He does back, he does back people in that, at that place. At Fox, I think he lost control of the situation, is, with, either it was Roger Ailes or Tucker Carlson or Bill O'Reilly. That's a different ...... beast for him and a different tool. He's doing it diff- and the New York Post is just to, just to write fantastic headlines. It's not me- it's meant ... It's kind of, to me, the New York Post is him in many ways. But at the Wall Street Journal, he's been a good owner. He's been a very good owner. H- I- he's never ... Never once, and I talked to Rupert a lot when I was covering the internet and he really did not like the internet people. Never once did he try to pressure me in any way. He'd call and say, "What do you think of this version?" And, you know. But I'll tell you, I- I- I've been ... I haven't really been pressured at many places. I don't, I don't think I have actually, oddly enough. It doesn't happen, folks. It just doesn't happen and it doesn't happen just 'cause the person's Rupert Murdoch. He's a very good owner of the Wall Street Journal. Uh, and we'll see what happens after he dies. That's gonna be a, that's gonna be a shit show. But we'll see.

  5. 38:3346:58

    Trump Can’t Quit SpaceX

    1. KS

      Um, okay. Let's go on a quick break. When we come back, why Trump can't seem to quit SpaceX. Scott, we're back. The US government just can't quit Elon Musk. A review of SpaceX's government contracts spurred by Musk's feud with President Trump found most were vital. The review found SpaceX to be critical to the Defense Department and NASA. For example, SpaceX's Crew Dragon, uh, Crew Dragon spacecraft, uh, is only, the only US vehicle certified to fly astronauts to and from the space station, and the company's high speed internet through Starlink provides national security satellite capabilities. Um, you, you've mentioned the security risk here. Um, they are trying to find ways to be less reliant on Musk. It is not new to the Trump administration. This was a concern of the Biden administration. It's a concern when any, any vendor gets too much power, as, as it should. Um, but, you know, he's created a product that people have. Why don't you talk a little bit about this? I, I, I had said he's gonna have a hard time getting rid of Musk. What I found offensive is his attempts to get rid of Musk were not because he's trying to protect the US government, it's because he was mad at him. So that's my issue with, with what he was doing here.

    2. SG

      I think the best and the worst product of the last couple of years are from the same person. The worst product is hands down the Cybertruck. Just looks ridiculously stupid, not well made, stupid price point, stupid positioning. Um, supposedly sales are like 90% off of projections. The best product is Starlink. It's just, uh, uh ... The delta between everything else and Starlink is staggering on what could be more important. The broadband is like water, and this guy's figured out a way to find more potable water at a lower price. It costs in the ... If you were to kind of reverse engineer, well, what's the secret behind Starlink? 87%, it's 87% of launches, actually 52% of all global orbital launches and 84% of all satellites by mass are from one company. And 87% of launches in 2024 in the US were, were SpaceX, and they're basically launching, doing a launch every 2.1 days because the Falcon Heavy rocket can put a kilogram into space for $2000 and the near closest, like the European equivalent, I think it's Ariane 5 or something, it's $9000. And NASA is kind of even like prohibited because they're not allowed to blow up rockets on the launchpad. They just can't do that as a government agency. So he has a staggering lead and it has led to a situation where two thirds of the low orbit satellites are controlled by one person and his blood sugar might decide one day to turn off Battlefield-

    3. KS

      Yeah.

    4. SG

      ... communications technology.

    5. KS

      That's the issue.

    6. SG

      I think where this ends up, one, I mean the reality is, it would be fair to say the US doesn't have a space program, it has SpaceX. And that is if we (laughs) need to bring astronauts home from the space station, we gotta call Elon. If we want the most sophisticated communication systems in the world and we want to offer it to Ukraine to push back on the Russians, we gotta call Elon. If you're looking ... Uh, I mean Kuiper has to call Elon to put their satellites into space. I think where this goes is, I think this is a monopoly that has avoided or evaded the real scrutiny of the FTC and the DOJ. I don't think that's gonna happen any longer. But at the same time, they don't wanna give up that lead and that competence. I think where we end up is something along the lines of where we've ended up with telco, and that is, I believe there are only two or three networks nationally 'cause they're very expensive to build. AT&T, Ver- and Verizon. I don't know if T-Mobile's a third, if they ran. But basically the DOJ and the FT-

    7. KS

      They rent.

    8. SG

      Is that right? Uh, basically-

    9. KS

      Yeah.

    10. SG

      Basically what the DOJ and the FTC said is like, "Okay, we understand the rationale for monopoly." Basically cable companies have c- convinced local regulators that only one company can afford to build out all this fiber, it should be us. So then regulators say, "Fine, you're a regulated monopoly. We have a bureaucrat who looks at your pricing." And then what they did with the telco networks is they forced them to rent them out at an economically fair price to other MVNOs. So for example, Mint Mobile, which is one of the fastest growing telcos in the nation, or was one of the fastest growing telcos in the nation, is on either AT&T or T-Mobile's network. I think that's where this goes, Kara. I don't think you want a kneecap SpaceX. I think what they're gonna do is similar. I think they're gonna legislate what's happened with Kuiper and say, "Fine, you have a monopoly. You keep on trucking, you keep having the most valuable private company in the world, but you have to lease out your launch capability-

    11. KS

      Yeah.

    12. SG

      ... to other companies."

    13. KS

      Makes sense.Makes sense. That, that, that completely makes sense. I think it w- any government, whether it's the Trump Administration, any administration, Democratic administration, you cannot have one person, especially s- a single person like Elon Musk, given all the other issues, in charge of these things. It's the same thing with, w- with Lockheed or whoever. We have to, we have to have more competition and that's a way to do it. That's exact ... Scott's exactly right. And we do have a more vibrant, um, cellphone. You do have choices 'cause they can rent it out. It doesn't really matter. It's how they market it, h- how well customer service is, not the commodity itself, which is, uh, connection, right? So yes, I think that's a great idea. I think that's a great idea. I am bothered that they, even if I don't like Elon Musk, that they decided to go after him 'cause he didn't get along with the president. That should not ever happen. It happens all the time, I guess, but kind of grotesque, um, trying to, trying to get rid of him. I- even if it's right to try to sort of get rid of him or at least create more competition, um, to review things just to screw with someone seems un-American to me.

    14. SG

      It, it is such an incredible circuit. Starlink, amongst other things, right? Um, (laughs) uh, they turned off Starlink access for Ukraine during a raid on Russian naval ships in 2022. This is one man deciding to basically reshape what might happen in terms of the invasion, the successful or unsuccessful invasion of Europe. The American military has been quietly building a dependence on Starlink. Most notably, the m- our, our most important ... in my opinion, our most impressive weapons is our ability to d- deliver massive, like, nation-like violence anywhere in the world through our, our-

    15. KS

      Satellites?

    16. SG

      Well, not a- ... Our satellite's how we communicate, but our na- our satellites which our carrier's squadrons depend upon.

    17. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    18. SG

      What if all of a sudden, our, our ... we deploy our carriers to a hot spot, even a hot war-

    19. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    20. SG

      ... and he decides to turn off Starlink? How do you think these car- carriers defend against incoming drones?

    21. KS

      Yeah, you have to have other capabilities.

    22. SG

      So-

    23. KS

      100%. Especially as we go cyber with war, which is where it's headed obviously.

    24. SG

      The US government also rewarded SpaceX a $537 million contract for Starlink services for Ukraine's military. So, the most, the most impressive component of Musk's universe and the most dangerous monopoly in the world right now is the same company. It's SpaceX and specifically Starlink. And I don't think you ... I think you wanna incent him, give him the economic upside of this incredible engineering feat, and the fact that good for him, he's established monopoly power. But for security reasons and economic reasons, I think you're gonna, A, on a military level, ensure that he has no decision capability and there is no off switch with wi- within his ketamine-laced fingers, and two, that other companies have access to that infrastructure such that he just doesn't-

    25. KS

      Yeah, so they can build up-

    26. SG

      ... catch on.

    27. KS

      ... competitors. Y- they have been sending Gwynne Shotwell here. She was apparently here for a meeting with the Trump people. She is the CEO of th- s- of, uh, SpaceX. More Gwynne Shotwell, less Elon Musk, 'cause she's well-respected within the defense industries, has been c- ... a quiet, competent executive, uh, though she defends him for bad behaviors.

    28. SG

      Let me ask you this. Some-

    29. KS

      Yeah.

    30. SG

      Someone asked me who was the p- ... I'm in this, this Netflix show I'm working on-

  6. 46:5857:34

    Wins and Fails

    1. KS

      to say. Anyway, and this is why I love you. All right, Scott, one more quick break. We'll be back for wins and fails. Okay, Scott, let's hear some wins and fails. Would you like me to go first or would you like to?

    2. SG

      You go first.

    3. KS

      Okay. My fail, I, I have so many. Um, In-N-Out's, uh, billionaire owner, uh, her name's Lindsay Snyder, she's the granddaughter of the founders. I love In-N-Out. Let me just say I love an In-N-Out burger. My kids love In-N-Out. We've gone there many, many, many ... dozens and hundreds of times and when ... lived in California. It's moving, it, it's, it's expanding. It's moving into the South. Eventually, it'll get to the East Coast, probably never. Um, she's moving to Tennessee, blaming challenges of running her business and raising her family in California. Let me just say, Lindsay, I get it. You wanna move to Tennessee. She's quite m- ... She's a ... They're r- ... They're, they're, uh, conservative is being kind. They're quite on that side, quite far to the right. I still like your fucking burgers, Lindsay. But my business is California made you, made your c- family's business. If you're gonna leave, just leave or stay and help fix it in the way you want to. I just think these people leaving a s- the state, even if there's lots of challenges, and I completely agree, the, the, the, the ung- ... the lack of gratitude, especially since you stick religious things on your thing, is profound. California made you. You have a California vibe to you. You can't just take what you want and leave and then kick it on the way out. By the way, a lot of those tech executives who left and kicked California away are back in California, because it's hot in Austin and it's hot in Miami, and you just can't make that happen in many of those places. So I'm f- ... You move wherever you want, honey, but ... and your burgers are fantastic, but stop, like, kicking a, a state that really did make your family as wealthy as it is. That's my issue with her. Again, please eat at In-N-Out, but Lindsay, you're ungrateful and terrible in that regard. In my positive thing, I would say everyone needs to watch the Gilded Age this season. It's so good. If you like, n- you know, wealth porn and all this stuff, Carrie Coons plays Bertha. Uh, I just love her. Every single person on that show, I love. Um, and it's really fun if you wanna sort of live in another billionaire era essentially and watch them manipulate each other in all kinds of early America. It's, it's ... The third season is really hitting its stride, and it's super, um, soapy also and really fun, and it ... they do a great job on costumes. It's the same guy who did Downton Abbey. Um, it's great. It's really fun, and I'm really enjoying the third season, along with th- the recent season of, um, um, the Sex and the City spinoff, uh, And Just Like That... People are a lot of hate watching it, but it's totally enjoyable, same thing. HBO is really good.

    4. SG

      And Just Like That...?

    5. KS

      And j- ... It is. It's ... People are hate watching it.

    6. SG

      Oh, it's so awful, Kara.

    7. KS

      I know, but I'm telling you, it's, it's like going up in the ratings 'cause it's like, uh, people are hate watching it or whatever, and the last episode was actually quite good. Um, uh, I, I like Sarah Jessica Parker. I love her actually, and, um, I just think it's doing really well. I like it. Look, it's winning, so whatever, however-

    8. SG

      There you go.

    9. KS

      ... winning, both of those shows are doing really well for HBO. Good job, HBO.Thank you. Go ahead.

    10. SG

      Uh, yeah. Um, I, I'd just like to ... I haven't watched The Gilded Age. Um, uh, Carrie Coon, I thought gave the best monologue in The White Lotus is, uh ... She's in it, right?

    11. KS

      Uh-

    12. SG

      And-

    13. KS

      Yes, and Cynthia Nixon's in both, uh, both the Sex and the City one and also this one. She plays, she's in both, she's in both shows. Anyway, it's great. It's a great show. It's a great show.

    14. SG

      There you go.

    15. KS

      Carrie Coon's is so good.

    16. SG

      Um, uh, I, my win is, uh, I just, uh, interviewed, uh, Governor Whitmer, Gretchen Whitmer, and it just struck me, every time I talk to ... I, I think it's so easy to be really cynical about our elected officials. I think when you get to, when you, when you talk to a lot of these people, you know, raised by, raised by a single mother, um, two daughters, three stepsons, um, you know, s- very open about didn't have her shit together in high school, went to Michigan State then got her act together and went to law school and is just a very impressive person. And, and, uh, just reminded me that there really are a lot of people who are ... give up a lot of economic upside to be great public servants. And I enjoyed the conversation with her, so, I don't know, my win is, uh, Governor Whitmer are the ... And Michigan does a pretty good job. I mean, pretty bipartisan. They have economic growth there. They ... Good quality of life, trying to keep affordability or, you know, building a lot of housing, great universities, um, things.

    17. KS

      They are.

    18. SG

      So-

    19. KS

      Go Michigan. Do you think she'll run?

    20. SG

      Mich-

    21. KS

      Just curious, from talking to her. I don't think she will.

    22. SG

      Uh, I assume that anyone who, who calls me and comes on my podcast is running for president.

    23. KS

      Okay. I don't-

    24. SG

      Why would they do that?

    25. KS

      ... think so.

    26. SG

      To hang out with, like, my charming wit and-

    27. KS

      I don't know, 'cause you're so ... 'Cause she-

    28. SG

      ... sunshiny personality?

    29. KS

      A penis joke? She likes a good penis joke, I'm sure.

    30. SG

      She spent an hour and a half on my podcast with me. A- anyone who calls ... Anyone who takes an interest in me-

Episode duration: 57:34

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