EVERY SPOKEN WORD
60 min read · 11,522 words- 0:00 – 1:19
Intro
- KSKara Swisher
The Republicans are committing unnatural acts. They really are. It looks like a weird sex position, the way they have drawn these things, and it's grotesque. [upbeat music] Hi, everyone, this is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Kara Swisher.
- SGScott Galloway
And I'm Scott Galloway.
- KSKara Swisher
So I, I didn't hear from you yesterday on Mother's Day, but that's okay. No, I'm teasing. [laughs] I'm teasing.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, I can't even imagine the Royal Ascot wedding coronation jubilee that is Mother's Day at your house.
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs]
- SGScott Galloway
Seriously, you got-
- KSKara Swisher
Three mothers
- SGScott Galloway
... you got-
- KSKara Swisher
Stepmother
- SGScott Galloway
... three mothers-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... an ex, a ceramic mug business, and somebody definitely crying in a Subaru.
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs]
- SGScott Galloway
It's gotta be-
- KSKara Swisher
That's Louie. [laughs]
- SGScott Galloway
It's gotta be [laughs] if, there's a lot, lot of moving parts.
- KSKara Swisher
There's a lot of mothers, yeah. No, I have to say, and, and also my mother too.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, I'm glad you had a nice one. Happy Mother's Day, Kara.
- KSKara Swisher
What did you do for your lovely wife?
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, not a lot. All I do is remind the boys to call her. [laughs]
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, wow. Wow.
- SGScott Galloway
That's what I do. I, I, I basically, a lot of angry texts of something along the lines of, "Have you called the person that gave you life?"
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, nice. [laughs]
- SGScott Galloway
That kind of thing.
- KSKara Swisher
Anyway, we should get to the news. Um, this is a really interesting story I, I thought, and I was paying attention. It was a
- 1:19 – 4:39
ABC vs. FCC
- KSKara Swisher
way, the FCC's lone Democratic commissioner is accusing the Trump administration of waging a, quote, "sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control against ABC." In a letter to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, Anna Gomez said the FCC under Brendan, Brenda Carr has been weaponized to pressure a free and independent press and all media into submission. The letter comes after ABC accused the FCC of attempting to chill free speech, which it did, in a petition filed last week. That filing is tied to the FCC's probe into whether The View violated equal time rules when tennis, Texas Senate candidate James Talarico went on the show earlier this year. ABC argues The View got an FCC ex-exemption in 2002 as a b- a bona fide news interview program, which it is, and that ruling remains in effect today. And, you know, as usual, Brenda has said so many things publicly that are really damning in terms of when it, when they come to court, you know, as being such a suck-up to the Trump administration and not an independent person he's supposed to be. He can have his opinions about things, but he has made, become more censorious than all the left he accuses them of and is making all manner of business threats. It's interesting that Disney and ABC is pushing back rather hard under this new CEO, something probably, uh, I suspect, uh, Iger wanted to do, but felt he couldn't at the time, but, uh, any thoughts on this?
- SGScott Galloway
Well, yeah. They, they're learning. The [sighs] m-
- KSKara Swisher
You said this. You sort of predict there's gonna be a lot of standing up and pushing back.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, they're learning. They, uh, they have figured out that sucking Ron De- Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump's cock has not paid off for them. Remember the economic warfare that DeSantis was trying to levy, levy for political reasons? And it, it doesn't pay, it doesn't pay to appease these guys. And so-
- KSKara Swisher
They did push back on DeSantis, if you recall. Remember? They sort of played games with him for a while.
- SGScott Galloway
Eh, sort of.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. Yeah, they did. They did.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, it, anyways, this is-
- KSKara Swisher
With Trump they did not. That is correct, yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
A- and now go to the legal veracity. This isn't, this isn't legal ambiguity. It, this is a government harassment campaign with an FCC seal on it. Um, saying that, saying that the equal time probe or that The View, uh, violates equal time, that basically essentially means Fox & Friends have been violating equal time for 25 consecutive years.
- KSKara Swisher
Yep.
- SGScott Galloway
This is just ridiculous.
- KSKara Swisher
Exactly, exactly.
- SGScott Galloway
And then the lone Democrat, uh, on the FCC is a woman named Anna Gomez, who essentially is yelling into a void-
- KSKara Swisher
Right
- SGScott Galloway
... while the institution continues to be weaponized against the press. It's not, I mean, Commissioner Gomez basically can't even dissent. It's more like a hostage note when she writes her letters of dissent. So this is nothing but, again, more weaponization of media or weaponization of our government agencies to try and squelch free speech. It's just insane when they talk about, I mean, all this bullshit that supposedly Democrats call for violence and the language they use-
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, it's ridiculous
- SGScott Galloway
... when they-
- KSKara Swisher
A- a- and Brenda is just making it worse by giving these stupid speeches with his smug little, you know, shit-eating grin that he always has on his face. And again, Brenda, I'm following you everywhere you go after you leave office, and I will make sure people understand what you did constantly, constantly. Anyway, sorry, go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
This is, a- and I hate to say this, and it goes into our next story. Do you wanna talk about gerrymandering?
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. We will, yeah. I can read. Uh, I mean, for people who don't know, obviously this got big press. As redistricting
- 4:39 – 16:06
Redistricting Wars
- KSKara Swisher
wars ramp up ahead of the midterms, Democrats are facing some major setbacks. The Virginia Supreme Court just struck down a voter-approved map that could have netted the Democrats up to four House seats. It's not over yet. And we'll see. It's gonna go to the Supreme Court. Um, but the Supreme Court, of course, did its business by weakening the Voter Rights Act in recent rulings setting off redistricting pushes in several southern states. Republicans could now have around 15 new winnable districts, but Trump's approval ratings are still a massive hurdle. As one Democratic strategist put it, Trump has the power to rig the maps, but he doesn't have the power to get his approval rating higher. It could slap back at them. Um, it's really interesting. One of the long-shot options reportedly tossed around in Virginia, lower the mandatory retirement age for the state Supreme Court and replace the entire bench. Uh, I think, uh, uh, there's a bunch of things they may have to do, but what's a real shame is that now the Democrats are gonna have to gerrymander their states, which is not good for any-- This, none of this is any good to be breaking this precedent of 10 years with s- following the census to do this, what is essentially, uh, stealing. Just m- when you look at the map in Tennessee, it's insane. Like, there's, like, people are 210 miles away from, from other voters, which is crazy. It's a crazy, it's a crazy map, and it's all done to retain power, um, which I think they won't, actually, doing this. I think people are offended by having their votes stolen from them.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, Democrats, and I agree with thisWanted to fight fire with fire or gerrymandering with gerrymandering, and they lost both the map and you could argue the moral high ground, although I think it was the right move. Uh, and you can't argue with the fact the other side is destroying democracy. Uh, I mean, Tennessee is the template, right? There's two Democratic congresspeople in twenty twenty, Nashville and Memphis. Republicans redistricted Nashville in twenty twenty-two, and now it's Memphis. The, the playbook is pretty straightforward here. They find a Democratic district, and they redraw the lines until it disappears. Now, I, I actually believe, I don't believe, I mean, a really interesting message and the right message for a candidate, specifically a presidential candidate, and right now the only one actually talking about fucking issues is Rahm Emanuel.
- KSKara Swisher
He is. He really is.
- SGScott Galloway
They're all just cos- they're all just cosplaying Obama-
- KSKara Swisher
He is
- SGScott Galloway
... hoping rhetorical flourish and talking about breaking bread with Jews and Muslims, and we need to come together.
- KSKara Swisher
Although I have to say, Newsom got the job done in California. He, like, hit them hard and won the redistrict.
- SGScott Galloway
He fought back and he won. He fought the law, and he won. But, uh, w- we need structural reform. One, a really decent talking point and issue for a president, a presidential candidate would be the following: "Within ninety days, I'm, I'm putting up for a vote in the Congress and the Senate to de-ger-gerrymander the entire United States, six Republicans, six Democrats. We're gonna use technology." It might be just as much as putting a grid on top of the United States map and saying, "Okay, it might be AI," whatever it is, but we need to de-gerrymander the United States. And then I think another structural reform, and it goes to a larger issue, a lot of the world's problems right now can be reverse engineered to old men who won't fucking leave.
- KSKara Swisher
Won't fucking leave.
- SGScott Galloway
It creates fascists who find reasons to de-deny democracy. It creates, uh, public investment that lacks investment in young people and children. It creates a demographic collapse 'cause young people don't get money, 'cause old people keep voting themselves more and more money. I see it i-in academia. Young academics are leaving the field because there's no fucking room for 'em, 'cause a guy who was the bomb in nineteen eighty-eight in gap one accounting won't fucking leave 'cause we give him tenure about the time they become totally unproductive. There needs to be a shedding, a healthy shedding of skin. I have self-imposed term limits on boards. You need to move on, and one of those structural reforms should be term limits and age gating for the most important people over the long term in the United States, and that is-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... our Supreme Court.
- KSKara Swisher
Absolutely.
- SGScott Galloway
We need a-
- KSKara Swisher
Or term, term limits and age gating, both, right? Correct, or-
- SGScott Galloway
I just said that. Uh-
- KSKara Swisher
Well, at both at the same time or one or the other?
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah. For God's sakes, if you're seventy-two, your prefrontal cor- your brain is shrinking. Your brain starts shrinking at forty-five. By the time you're seventy-two, most people have a very difficult time with cognitive function, and I'm sure there's exceptions. That Ruth Bader Ginsburg was, was very smart-
- KSKara Swisher
Yep, a hundred percent
- SGScott Galloway
... at eighty. She should've been forced to retire at seventy-two, as should the rest of them. You need young thinking. You need people, you need people who occasionally have a fucking child in the house, so they can re- they can relate to the [laughs] issues facing, facing young people. I, you, you don't wanna pack the court because all that means is when a Republican gets in, they're gonna expand the court from twelve to thirty people under their watch. You need, you need age gating, and you need term limits. But more than anything, a great talking point for a Democrat right now would be, "I am going to de-gerryman-mander the US within ninety days. I'm gonna put a vote up, and you can find out who is not up for true democracy here."
- KSKara Swisher
Right. Absolutely. I mean, one of the things, it just, when you look at these maps, you know, at some point, o-obviously, gerrymandering's been around forever, but these are, like, they're un- like, the Republicans are committing unnatural acts. They really are. It looks like a weird sex position, the way they have drawn these things, and it's grotesque. It's grotesque. And they, you know what? It was, I have to say, those images from, uh, Tennessee with those fat, white, old men laughing at young, very vibrant, interesting-
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah
- KSKara Swisher
... uh, Black legislators.
- SGScott Galloway
Black men, yeah.
- KSKara Swisher
Like, you're nothing more than-
- SGScott Galloway
It, it really did look like the Confederate South. It looked-
- KSKara Swisher
They look like the Confederate South. It was a version, and then laughing. You all are, by the way, y'all are gonna die of a heart attack relatively soon because you look like you could get out for a walk or two. But one of, it just was, the visuals were so, like, these old racist fucks, and I'm not sure that's... And then at the top of the heap is Trump, who looks like r- who's cognitively... I keep saying this, Scott, we have to, you know, we did it with Biden. I think we have to zero in on his cognitive difficulties that just continue. And today, Dr. Oz and, uh, the other one, uh, Britt, Katie Britt, were, like, talking to him like he was a toddler, like a toddler when he was s- something or the, "Oh, Mr. Pres-" It's like you talk to someone in old folks home. Like, he's old.
- SGScott Galloway
Again, age gating.
- KSKara Swisher
Age gating.
- SGScott Galloway
No one should be allowed to run for president if, when elected, they're gonna be older than seventy. Uh, or, or pick a number. Have, have neurologists decide. You need a physically and mentally ridiculously capable person. But at some point-
- 16:06 – 22:50
AI Airpods
- KSKara Swisher
Apple's reportedly reached the late stages of development for new AirPods that include tiny cameras designed for AI features. Who said they were gonna put cameras? You and I have talked about this. The cameras would help Siri understand what's around you, so you could ask questions about objects, landmarks, or directions in real time. The new AirPods are expected to look similar to AirPod, uh, Pro, but with slightly longer stems to fit the camera hardware. Uh, this is astonishing. I think Apple originally wanted to launch the AI wearable sooner, but delays in its upgraded Siri pushed the timeline back. Um, you will, of course, lose 50 pairs of these, Scott. Um, uh, this is really-
- SGScott Galloway
50
- KSKara Swisher
... 50. [laughs] 100. Um-
- SGScott Galloway
By the way, this has not, no pods in it, 'cause I can't find them.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, God.
- SGScott Galloway
You know?
- KSKara Swisher
Jesus. It's a needy-
- SGScott Galloway
And there's s-
- KSKara Swisher
I s- I, I can attest in S- New Y- Scott's New York apartment, there's so many AirPod cases everywhere, and m- they're like one AirPod in them. Some are never been opened. It's really, it's a funny-
- SGScott Galloway
I love those things.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
I absolutely.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. So talk about this, because one, uh, there's, they're obviously privacy, 'cause a lot of people have, have been pushing back on the Meta glasses, which sell just okay. They don't, they're not, like... They're, they're popular, but not that popular. Um, so talk a little bit about this, because i- i- there is a privacy issue here, like people looking out. At the same time, it's inevitable you're gonna have these heads-up displays in some way, and this is a version of heads-up display that isn't in your face, which I think is more effective that it's in your ear, of a camera in your ear. I'd love your thoughts on this, 'cause you have big thoughts on visual, like heads-up displays.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, uh, as much as I hated mixed reality headsets and the Oculus, I love this. And it goes back to a very anthropological thing. What is harder for people to adapt to when they lose their vision or they lose their hearing?
- KSKara Swisher
Vision, I guess. But not seeing.
- SGScott Galloway
No, it's hearing.
- KSKara Swisher
Hearing. Okay. All right. Okay.
- SGScott Galloway
As a matter of fact, when your hearing goes, you stop processing words, and you become more... Uh, i- this is gonna sound strange. Well, it's not strange. People have a much more difficult time maintaining societal contact, relevance in relationships when their hearing starts to go, as opposed to their vision starting to go. Your hearing, uh, the last sense to go when you die-... is hearing. You're supposed to, when people pass, you're supposed to keep telling them that you love them. Because supposedly that's the literally the last sense to go, and I think it's the most underrated, um, uh, of the senses. We have over-invested in visuals and under-invested in hearing. AirPods, if they were a distinct company, just AirPods would be a Fortune 50 company. And what is this, what is Apple doing here? They're turning your ears into eyes and sending the footage. You know, unfortunately, they might be sending the footage to Cupertino, but the A- the AI wearable race is now happening. What's interesting, though, is it's not happening where people thought it was gonna happen. It's happening in their ear canal. So Meta has Ray-Bans, Apple has AirPods, uh, Google probably has some glassing. I don't know what they're calling it this week.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. They, they originally had, uh, uh, contact lenses. They... Remember they... A long time, we broke a story about them working on contact lenses with, um, visuals in them, but go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
The, the problem here, or the... I think it's a great idea, and I'll buy one. The problem is the hardware for, at Apple, the hardware is always ready before the software. And they wanted to launch this sooner, but Siri has, is probably one of the worst tech products of the last 10 years.
- KSKara Swisher
It is. It really is.
- SGScott Galloway
And Apple, I mean, think about it.
- KSKara Swisher
Sucks.
- SGScott Galloway
App- Apple has the world's best supply chain and the world's most embarrassing AI assistant. [laughs]
- KSKara Swisher
It is.
- SGScott Galloway
Um-
- KSKara Swisher
It's so bad. I hate Siri
- SGScott Galloway
... I mean, essentially, AirPods as they envision it right now with this, with cameras, is essentially, because of a very weak, uh, AI assistant overlay, it's like a Lamborghini chassis waiting for an engine that works. So the, the hardware will be the best-looking hardware, the best operating hardware. The problem will be the AI overlay, and I told you what I believe.
- KSKara Swisher
They have to get it right. They have to.
- SGScott Galloway
I think they're gonna shitcan Siri and license it to someone else for tens of billions of dollars.
- 22:50 – 30:41
SpaceX’s Chip Project
- KSKara Swisher
Another interesting piece of tech, and we're very tech-heavy today. SpaceX chip-making project in Texas will have an initial price tag of at least $55 billion and could eventually grow to 119 billion. According to a public hearing notice, the project, called Terafab, will create chips to power AI for SpaceX and Tesla. I think this is a smart move by Elon. SpaceX is asking for tax breaks for the project, of course, which will be discussed at a hearing next month, and T- Texas will definitely give it to them because that's what Texas does. They bend over, speaking of bending over. Um, SpaceX is, of course, preparing to go public with one of the largest IP offerings in June. Um, uh, to me, more than the robotics focus, this is really an important... I mean, the way they do energy is sort of rapacious to the people living in the areas they're living in, and it's, there's getting a lot of pushback. But the idea of your own chips, all these companies really have to be in that game, it seems like, and it's important. It's... Elon really does know this. I don't think he's as highly technical as he makes himself out to be, but he does understand this is the heart of it. Your thoughts?
- SGScott Galloway
I agree with you. This is a really smart move, and it's one of the most interesting... And it's also, quite frankly, it's fundraising. It's gonna be a big slide in his roadshow for SpaceX IPO. They, you know, it, they're talking about a $60 to $120 billion chip fabrication plant, uh, Terafab, and it would be bigger than the, the biggest one in the US right now is a $65 billion plant from TSMC.So the world's most advanced chip maker with 50 years of experience, Elon is trying to out TSMC TSMC. So I, it, it, it creates... He's very good. He and Trump are both obsessed with being in your fucking face every day, and they're very good at it. And so this is, it, it may... I'm not, I think it's gonna happen. He, the guy is a big thinker.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, exactly. Like xAI went nowhere. Sorry, you just need-
- SGScott Galloway
It may or it may not. He may not be very good at this. It doesn't matter. It is a great, this guy is a big thinker. He's bold. He's pu-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... pulled off some incredibly big, bold-
- KSKara Swisher
This was the right direction. Yeah. Let me say-
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah
- KSKara Swisher
... he did, he did surrender xAI by doing the Anthropic deal. It just, everybody's left. He's not gonna win here. He could win in this, and I, I, I think he probably might. This is a better focus for him. Speaking of focuses for him, French prosecutors are summoning Elon and X's former CEO, Linda Yaccarino. Oh, Yaccarino, where did you go? To, she's doing some health company, to face preliminary criminal charges into X. The investigation includes charges of child pornography and sexualized deepfake. It was interesting when I was in Europe, they were like, "Oh, it's not, he's not gonna l- it's not gonna go anywhere." I don't really care. I'm glad a government is doing it, right? 'Cause ours certainly wouldn't. And they should, they should face an investigation of what was happening there at X doing all this. Who made the decisions about these child pornography and sexualized deepfake creations? I'd like to know, and I'm glad a government is pursuing it. I don't even care if they win. I'm glad they're doing it. That's my feeling.
- SGScott Galloway
There you go. Um-
- KSKara Swisher
That's it.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, I don't, uh, more power to them. At some point, big tech executives, uh, their flight pattern is gonna look like gerrymandered 'cause they're not gonna be able to go to the airspace.
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs] That's funny.
- SGScott Galloway
We forgive these, these founders during, especially during the Trump administration for the economic growth.
- KSKara Swisher
Anti-sociopaths is the word I would use.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, but we are, we are net gainers from big tech. We just are in the US. That's not to say we should-
- KSKara Swisher
They still should pay the price for stuff like this.
- SGScott Galloway
I agree.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
That's not to say we shouldn't hold them accountable. It's not to say they shouldn't be subject to the same rules and regulation as other industries. But if you had a red button to push and do away with all big tech, you wouldn't wanna do it. And for all the problems and externalities, there isn't a single nation in the world that's presented with the opportunity wouldn't say, "Put your headquarters here." The problem is, you know, the big tech, I don't think Italy is a, is a net gainer from big tech. The US is, but I'm not sure other nations are.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. They aren't. So we are.
- SGScott Galloway
And so a lot of these nations are doing the math and saying, "You've gutted our media companies. You don't pay that many taxes here. You haven't really increased employment a lot. You're just creating tremendous disruption." So-
- KSKara Swisher
And sexualized deepfakes.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah. And also you, you now appear to be an existential threat to our, our kids', uh, emotional and physical well-being. We're not down with... You know, the idolatry of innovators, for a lot of good reasons and some bad, is, has totally, uh, kind of infected or overwhelmed the US. The worm has turned a little bit. AI is way down. People are realizing what a, what a, what a negative impact this has had on our children, and then going much bigger, it's manifesting itself in terms of being ground zero for frustrations around income inequality. But these other nations just aren't that impressed by these guys. They're like, "Okay, you broke a law. We're gonna charge you."
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. I, I like the, the activity. And I think, as you said, long time ago, early in our relationship, someone has to do a perp walk on, on whatev- whether it's chatbots and kids dying or something like that. Someone has to go to jail. They won't, but the, I li- I like the effort by these governments, and I don't think it's, um... I think someone needs to investigate how they made these decisions about sexualized deepfakes and child pornography on that s- on whatever service that does it, and what they did to stop it or not stop it. I think it's important for the public to know.
- SGScott Galloway
There, there was, there was a guy, I think he was a McKinsey partner on the board of Goldman, and he took insider information and traded on it. He went to jail.
- KSKara Swisher
Jail.
- SGScott Galloway
Think about what's happening in the Trump administration-
- KSKara Swisher
I know
- SGScott Galloway
... around oil prices.
- 30:41 – 31:35
Trump Phone Grift
- KSKara Swisher
we're back. It's been almost a year since the Trump Phone was announced, and there's still no sign the device is anywhere close to shipping, but that hasn't stopped Trump mobile website from continuing to accept the $100 deposit for the phone. The fine print notes, "A pre-order deposit provides only a conditional opportunity if the Trump Mobile later elects to offer the device for sale." And while the phone was initially touted as being in Am- uh, made in America, the site now describes it as being shaped by American innovation. It looks like these aren't coming and that people have lost their money, which we said would happen. This is exactly... Um, you know, I'm not sure where the phone ranks among various Trump grifts. Um, another Trump venture where things weren't looking so great, uh, Trump Media just posted a net, uh, drop of 406- uh, net loss of $406 million, and I think they made under a million dollars in revenue driven largely by unrealized losses in crypto holdings. A- and while they're doing all this grift, the Pentagon has released
- 31:35 – 37:49
UFO Files Release
- KSKara Swisher
a batch of, quote, "never before seen" UFO files on a dedicated government website. The files include details from over 400 reports from the '40s and recent years, including several Apollo missions. President Trump touted the administration transparency in a Truth Social post saying, "Now the people can decide for themselves what the hell is going on." We cannot decide. They're just more lights. Hey, I could get more out of just, like, a book I'd buy at the airport about these things. Um, so it's just a lot of, you know, hand-waving all over the place, and grift. I mean, the Trump Phone, which Scott and I both said was never gonna happen, is not gonna happen, people. And that's 60 million bucks or something like that. I think that's how much they collected. It's, it's grift.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, uh, first off, uh, this wasn't, this wasn't a down payment on a product. It was a donation. I don't think anyone's gonna care. I, I think the likelihood that he was ever gonna have a competitive phone was, probably didn't escape these folks. As re- as it relates to me-
- KSKara Swisher
Maybe
- SGScott Galloway
... uh, aliens, I'm convinced-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... that aliens have been monitoring us, including all of our media.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
And if we're really honest, about two-thirds-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... of our media is porn. So-
- KSKara Swisher
[sighs]
- SGScott Galloway
... I think this explains that the aliens aren't using anal probes for information.
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs]
- SGScott Galloway
They're just trying to speak our language.
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs] Can you answer a question? Do you believe in aliens? I'm just curious. When you think about UFOs and you see these pictures, and the... Let me tell you, everybody, I looked at some of these pictures. They look like the pictures you always see, bright lights, things moving across the sky, unexplainable phenomena, often, often lights, uh, you know, or lights moving in a pattern or something like that, which could be explained lots of different ways. Uh, uh, do you actually believe in aliens, sir?
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, this-
- KSKara Swisher
I've never asked you this
- SGScott Galloway
... is gonna sound, this is gonna sound like I'm on edibles, but I'm not. But I believe in everything. What do I mean by that?
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs]
- SGScott Galloway
If you believe... [laughs] There's some logic here, I think.
- KSKara Swisher
Like Loch Ness Monster?
- SGScott Galloway
Well, no. If you-
- KSKara Swisher
Sasquatch?
- SGScott Galloway
[sighs] Most astrophysicists believe it, it, it appears, the infinite space theory that th- that space never ends. All right? So if space never ends and it's regenerating and the spice- space-time continuum curves and space never ends, that means everything exists. That means everything that's happened has happened before because if, if space never ends, that means the infinite possibilities of everything exist and everything that you can imagine is out there.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh my God, I need an edible at this point. [laughs] Okay.
- SGScott Galloway
So-
- KSKara Swisher
That means we exist all the time forever, you and I?
- SGScott Galloway
No, it means that if there's, if there's an infinite number of universes, at some point there's a universe very similar to ours with similar lifespans, similar earth and gas and organisms-
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, so there's a Kara and Scott in another universe
- SGScott Galloway
... and similar, similar Karas and Scotts. And if you don't believe, if it's not exactly like it, just keep going through infinity, and eventually you'll get to it. So-
- 37:49 – 55:31
Wins and Fails
- KSKara Swisher
wins and fails. I feel like I shall go first. Speaking of conspiracy theories, this is one that I find very troubling. And look, listen, I even kind of believe it. One in four Americans think the April shooting at the White House Correspondence Dinner was staged, according to a new survey. Roughly one in three Democrat respondents said they believe the event was staged, compared to one in eight Republicans. The same thing with the other, that a lot of, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, all these people think the f- the shooting in Butler was staged. I just feel the falling off of assuming cons... And this is, this does go back to Kennedy assassination and before. There's always been a conspiracy theory-minded pop- populace we have. But it's just a little, slightly depressing because, like, remember when you said, "I thought Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself." Just, like, nobody believes anything. And I find it really depressing that our shared... Like, I get conspiracy theories, and I see why you might think this, and I hate myself for even thinking, "Oh, maybe it was," right? Without any proof. And I find that feeling in me really gross, I have to say, the conspiracy theory-minded. But you become more that way as you live in this world where AI and social media and everything else just sort of spins your, spins your brain in a way that's really gross. Um, and speaking of clarity, I have to say, one thing is, first of all, Matt Damon on Saturday Night Live was superb, and he looks like he's great in The Odyssey. He was super-- That was a superb show. SNL is really bringing it.
- SGScott Galloway
He's a great-- He's a really solid actor.
- KSKara Swisher
Talking about clarity, Chelsea Handler at the Kevin Hart roast, uh, was-
- SGScott Galloway
You'll love that. I thought of you when I saw that
- KSKara Swisher
... fucking super. So was Tom Brady, by the way. But let me say, Chelsea Handler handed it back to the MAGA sort of adjacent comedian bros. Let's listen to her call out the comedians who went to the Saudi Comedy Festival.
- SPSpeaker
Now that your favorite leader is making the draft mandatory, I assume that all of you will be signing up to go fight in Iran. Or do you tough-talking pussies only go to the Middle East for comedy festivals? [audience laughing]
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, she was so-- She had so many lines. That was a nicer one. And then she had some choice words for Tony Hinchcliffe. She said, "Tony, Tony is what happens when women don't have safe access to abortion care," which I thought was funny. And then also, like, "Who's, who's, uh, who's warming Joe Rogan's balls in their mouth now that you're here tonight?" He looked sick the way she attacked him, and it was so good. She did such a good job. I have to say, Chelsea, I love ya. Marry me. I [chuckles] gotta say, so good. She was fanta- And they just-- He was so uncomfortable, like they can't take a joke. These people, they can dish it out, but they can't take it, and Chelsea put them down. Put them down, and I love, love to see it. Anyway, your thoughts?
- SGScott Galloway
I agree with you on that. Um, uh, so my wins and fails. My win is Mayor Mamdani's Piedà Terra tax. Um, I'm not even gonna get into whether, uh, the city of New York should be cutting costs or spends too much money. I don't have enough domain expertise. [chuckles] I'm a resident of Florida. But the percentage of federal employees, uh, as a percentage of the population has steadily gone down. I've never bought that there's just wa-waste, fraud, and abuse everywhere, and if we're gonna get our fiscal house in order, do we need to cut spending and raise taxes? The answer is yes. So I'm just gonna talk about the raising taxes side of it. If you're gonna raise taxes, it feels to me that there's a very legitimate argument that the people who have done the best over the last thirty or forty years are the very wealthy, and specifically owners, and it's pretty basic. Productivity has gone up forty-five degrees. Wages have gone flat. The delta between those two lines is trillions of dollars in, um, value creation, and almost all of it has gone to the top one, if not the top point one percent. So it seems to me that just basic math is it makes sense for the wealthiest among us to, uh, pay a disproportionate amount of incremental taxes needed to operate this great experiment called the US to pay for our Navy, to pay for food stamps. And the problem is, okay, so what do you do in New York if you need to raise revenues? Do you increase corporate taxes? The problem with that is, and Jamie Dimon pointed this out, JPMorgan has gone from thirty thousand to twenty thousand employees in New York in the last ten years 'cause it's a very expensive place to do business. I mean-
- KSKara Swisher
It is. It is. No question.
- SGScott Galloway
Meanwhile, in Texas, it's gone from ten thousand employees to thirty thousand. So at some point, you get diminishing returns. And a lot of the people that work at corporations are middle-class people who, who, who commute in from the different, different boroughs. So you gotta be very careful about raising costs on business because New York is getting to the point where a lot of businesses are contemplating, uh-
- KSKara Swisher
Leaving.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, leaving or at least trans-- or at least doing the bulk of their hiring somewhere else. Then you think, "Well, we could just go after all rich people." The problem is there are a lot of people in New York making a half a million, six hundred, eight hundred grand a year as a couple, and they can't-- I was that couple, and I had to leaveBecause it's just so goddamn expensive there, and you're already paying 13% or 14% incremental taxes. So I like the idea, and I... Let's bring this back to me. In 2017, when I sold my company, I made the mistake of giving NYU, I think, 2% of the company. So the dean called me and said, "Can you come up here?" And when the dean calls you and says, "Come up here," it's either very good or ve- very bad news. And he said, "We just got a check for X." And he said, "First off, thank you." And he said, "If my math is correct, that means you sold your company for Y." And I said, "Yes." And he's like, "I need you to move out of faculty housing right away." [laughs]
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs] That's right, you lost that house.
- SGScott Galloway
And he said-
- KSKara Swisher
You liked that house, didn't you?
- SGScott Galloway
I loved it there. No-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... it was all a bunch of 110-year-old widows from some tenure pr- history professor that died 40 years ago. No one makes eye contact. No one talks to each other. I loved it.
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs]
- SGScott Galloway
Washington Square Village, it was amazing. No one even looks you in the eye. Occasionally, there'd be a little mimeograph paper saying-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... "Join us in the third floor to celebrate Lois Frankel's life."
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs]
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, you know, occasionally there was a notice about someone who died. That's it. I absolutely love it. Anyways, he said, he was really funny too. Peter Henry, one of my role models and the best boss I've ever had, he said, "Y- you're in strategy." He's like, "Answer me this. What do you think the objective is of faculty housing?" [laughs] And I'm like, "To provide housing for young faculty who, who could otherwise not live here." And he's like, "Bingo. I need you to move out next week," [laughs] "not the week after that."
- KSKara Swisher
Right, right. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Anyways, I bought a place which Kara Swisher is very fond of.
- KSKara Swisher
I love it.
- SGScott Galloway
It's been my... one of my second homes.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
And I spend about, I don't know, about 60 days a year there, maybe 90. I don't know. And here's the bottom line. This tax, I figured it out, I did the math. If it goes through, uh, un- unfettered or un-
Episode duration: 55:32
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