Kara Swisher on Trump's UFC Distraction: "This Was Grotesque" | Pivot

Kara and Scott unpack the White House’s UFC spectacle, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery clearing a major merger hurdle, and SpaceX’s blockbuster public debut. Then, they discuss Fox buying Roku, the Trump administration’s latest clash with Anthropic, and state attorneys general investigating OpenAI. #pivot #podcast #karaswisher #scottgalloway #elonmusk #trump #ufc #paramount #warnerbros #spacex #roku #anthropic #fable #openai 00:00 Intro 00:21 White House UFC Fight 7:08 Paramount/Warner Approval 15:08 Fox Buying Roku 22:02 SpaceX Is Public 35:07 White House vs. Anthropic 45:00 Wins and Fails This episode is supported by Teleport: https://goteleport.com/pivot/?utm_source=the_pivot&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=vox_media_june_2026&utm_content=midroll Producers: Lara Naaman Zoë Marcus Taylor Griffin Todd Wiseman 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 email pivot@voxmedia.com

Kara SwisherhostScott Gallowayhost

Jun 16, 202659mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: June 16, 2026
Duration: 59m
Channel: Pivot
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Kara and Scott unpack the White House’s UFC spectacle, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery clearing a major merger hurdle, and SpaceX’s blockbuster public debut. Then, they discuss Fox buying Roku, the Trump administration’s latest clash with Anthropic, and state attorneys general investigating OpenAI. #pivot #podcast #karaswisher #scottgalloway #elonmusk #trump #ufc #paramount #warnerbros #spacex #roku #anthropic #fable #openai 00:00 Intro 00:21 White House UFC Fight 7:08 Paramount/Warner Approval 15:08 Fox Buying Roku 22:02 SpaceX Is Public 35:07 White House vs. Anthropic 45:00 Wins and Fails This episode is supported by Teleport: https://goteleport.com/pivot/?utm_source=the_pivot&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=vox_media_june_2026&utm_content=midroll Producers: Lara Naaman Zoë Marcus Taylor Griffin Todd Wiseman 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 email pivot@voxmedia.com

SPEAKERS

Kara Swisher
host
Journalist and podcast host at Vox Media; co-host of Pivot.
Scott Galloway
host
NYU Stern marketing professor, entrepreneur, and co-host of Pivot.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Pivot, featuring Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, Kara Swisher on Trump's UFC Distraction: "This Was Grotesque" | Pivot explores politics-as-spectacle, media mergers, and AI crackdowns reshape power landscape They argue Trump’s White House UFC event blended patriotism, commerce, and misogynistic spectacle, functioning both as cultural signaling about masculinity and as a strategic distraction from more consequential policy news.

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