Late Night TV & Tylenol Face Washington Pressure | Pivot

1. 0:00 – 5:28

   Intro

   1. SGScott Galloway0:00

      I think Trump loves this because I think his five comms people in a room with AI are saying, "Push the Kimmel thing, push the Kimmel thing, threaten it."

   2. KSKara Swisher0:06

      Yeah.

   3. SGScott Galloway0:07

      Boom, boom, it's working. Keep Epstein out of the news. (instrumental music)

   4. KSKara Swisher0:16

      Hi, everyone. This is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Kara Swisher. And Scott, we're 23 in the world. What do you think about that?

   5. SGScott Galloway0:25

      Uh, I'm Scott Galloway and I don't... I, I'd like to be 23. Would I like to be 23 again? I'm not sure.

   6. KSKara Swisher0:31

      No.

   7. SGScott Galloway0:31

      Anyways, I don't understand. What's 23?

   8. KSKara Swisher0:33

      We're the 20... We're in the top shows. We're 23. We've risen to 23. Isn't that amazing?

   9. SGScott Galloway0:38

      I glo-... You mean across all podcasts?

   10. KSKara Swisher0:40

       Across all podcasts, not just in our category of news. We're very quite high on news.

   11. SGScott Galloway0:43

       Watch out, Caller Daddy and Mel Robins.

   12. KSKara Swisher0:45

       Watch out, Daddy.

   13. SGScott Galloway0:45

       We're coming for you.

   14. KSKara Swisher0:46

       Who we don't have to talk about. We can talk about penis.

   15. SGScott Galloway0:47

       The guys at Smartless.

   16. KSKara Swisher0:49

       We should talk more about vaginas if we wanna get to the top, I think.

   17. SGScott Galloway0:52

       Yeah. I was just thinking that.

   18. KSKara Swisher0:53

       Yeah.

   19. SGScott Galloway0:53

       That's what's missing from the show.

   20. KSKara Swisher0:55

       Yeah. Yeah.

   21. SGScott Galloway0:56

       Yeah.

   22. KSKara Swisher0:56

       We're 23.

   23. SGScott Galloway0:57

       Yeah, 100%.

   24. KSKara Swisher0:58

       Yeah. You know, I almost ran over one of our fans the other day. (laughs)

   25. SGScott Galloway1:02

       (laughs) Okay.

   26. KSKara Swisher1:02

       I was driving and I was taking a right on red, and I didn't... They, they sort of popped out from behind a car, uh, crossing, and... But it was my fault. I shouldn't have... It's a... Was a no right on red. But I didn't do it. I was stopped, but I was sorta... You know when you sort of wander into the lane, essentially? Um, and the person was like, "Hey." And then they're like, "Kara Swishers!" (laughs) They were both horrified at me, and then yelled, "Love Pivot." That's... Anyway, I almost killed myself.

   27. SGScott Galloway1:30

       I pulled a to- total power move.

   28. KSKara Swisher1:32

       What?

   29. SGScott Galloway1:32

       Uh, yesterday, Bankoff was in town.

   30. KSKara Swisher1:34

       Oh?
2. 5:28 – 13:20

   Jimmy Kimmel Returns

   1. KSKara Swisher5:28

      viewers on TV and tens of millions of views on YouTube. Very... It did very well. That's around four times his usual a- live audience, despite the fact that Nexstar and Sinclair and local ABC affiliates boycotted the show, including here in Washington, DC, but it was about 25% of the country. Not e- not the biggest market except for, I think, DC and Seattle. But let's listen to a clip from his opening monologue.

   2. JKJimmy Kimmel5:49

      I've been hearing a lot about what I need to say and do tonight. And the truth is, I don't think what I have to say is gonna make much of a difference. If you like me, you like me. If you don't, you don't. I have no illusions about changing anyone's mind. But I do wanna make something clear because it's important to me a- as a human, and that is, uh, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. (applause) Uh, I don't...

   3. KSKara Swisher6:14

      I thought that was, um, terrific. I thought it was terrific.

   4. SGScott Galloway6:17

      Jimmy gave what could be described as an incredible individual performance last night. The market-

   5. KSKara Swisher6:22

      Two nights ago. Yeah, last night too.

   6. SGScott Galloway6:24

      And, and essentially, I, I really appreciate. I've never... I don't watch late night TV. I haven't watched it since Letterman. And, uh, essentially, I, I thought, I thought... I think Jimmy did a nice... Not only did he do a great job, but I think him reflecting that emotion that seemed genuine is really important for young men to see. With all this kind of performative masculinity and conflating masculinity with coarseness and cruelty, I think that's really terrible for young men. So, to see a guy that talented, that successful, in what it feels very genuinely, um, um, um, genuine emotion-

   7. KSKara Swisher6:57

      Emotional. Yeah, he's like that.

   8. SGScott Galloway6:58

      Um, and he's done that before. I think that's-

   9. KSKara Swisher7:00

      Yeah.

   10. SGScott Galloway7:00

       I think that's real-

   11. KSKara Swisher7:01

       He's like you in that regard, I have to say. You do that too.

   12. SGScott Galloway7:04

       But I think it's, um... I, I think young men need to see that. That, that, that, you know, you need to feel your emotions. It's okay to be vulnerable. It's, it's important that you inform your- yourself in terms of what moves you and, and other people around you. So, that to me was absolutely the most powerful moment. And, but market dynamics trump individual performance.

   13. KSKara Swisher7:27

       Yeah.

   14. SGScott Galloway7:28

       The Jimmy Kimmel show as it is now is, is already over. (laughs) It, it's just a question of timing. And, and it'll reinvent itself in a podcast format or streaming, but the means of production and the infrastructure they've set up just can't justify the business that is declining, as is all late night TV. There's nothing any of them can do. The, the structural change here is so significant.

   15. KSKara Swisher7:51

       Yeah.

   16. SGScott Galloway7:51

       The, the, the biggest... He comes out of this a big winner. He looks really good. Um, the biggest loser hands down is Bob Iger-

   17. KSKara Swisher8:00

       Mm-hmm.

   18. SGScott Galloway8:01

       As people... What's interesting historically, people are angry at the strong man, right? But people either love the strong man or hate him.

   19. KSKara Swisher8:08

       Yeah.

   20. SGScott Galloway8:09

       Who people really hate and who history is really unkind to-

   21. KSKara Swisher8:12

       Quizlings.

   22. SGScott Galloway8:13

       ... is the cowards that enabled him.

   23. KSKara Swisher8:16

       Mm-hmm.

   24. SGScott Galloway8:17

       And if you look back, um... I won't even go there. I was watching this thing on World War II and what they did to some of the-

   25. KSKara Swisher8:22

       Oh, Vichy France? That's what you're-

   26. SGScott Galloway8:24

       Well, there's a... Strong men are usually very charismatic and are ideologues and, you know, and some people would argue that the president is an ideologue, but basically what Jimmy Kimmel said, "You either like me or don't," is kind of true of Trump right now. I just-

   27. KSKara Swisher8:37

       Yeah.

   28. SGScott Galloway8:38

       What I hear from people who've decided that, "Oh, it's okay that his head of IS took $50,000 in cash in a brown bag." I mean, okay. There's literally nothing you can say. "Oh, he's c- he's really close friends and was, uh, bombing around town and hanging out with a convicted pedophile." "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, he was an undercover FBI agent helping..." I mean-

   29. KSKara Swisher9:02

       Anything.

   30. SGScott Galloway9:03

       So yeah, there's just no red line.
3. 13:20 – 21:54

   Nvidia to Invest $100B in OpenAI

   1. KSKara Swisher13:20

      billion in OpenAI. The deal will allow OpenAI to use NVIDIA's AI semiconductors inside its data centers. The buildout will require 10 gigawatts of power, which is around the amount consumed by about eight million homes. NVIDIA stock is up 2% the last five days at the time of the taping. Uh, this feels like a round trip. I had, like, feelings of AOL back in the day with Purchase Pro and everything else, where they're buying, they're giving them money, which they're using to buy chips, which they're using... You know what I mean? Th- this is so intertwined and s- I find it a little strange. Several people wrote me about this. I'd love to know what you think about it, um, given it feels like round tripping. That's what it feels like to me, but your thoughts?

   2. SGScott Galloway14:01

      Oh, i- it's eerily reminiscent of, I've been through this, it, it, it's a signal, a huge, um, flashing green or red light of that we're in late stage bubble.

   3. KSKara Swisher14:12

      Yeah.

   4. SGScott Galloway14:12

      And that is, okay, we can't justify our valuation, so let's take 2.5% dilution issue stock, take $100 billion, which is only 2.5% of a $4 trillion market cap company, invest in another company with the agreement they're gonna use all of that money to buy our chips, so we juice our top line and our multiple on revenues is much greater. Eh, I mean, it's, it's... I'll use another example. In '99, I was trying to sell, or early 2000, I was trying to sell my brand Strategy Firm Profit, and I was leaving to start an e-commerce incubator, uh, in New York, backed by Goldman, Maveron, J.P. Morgan, you know, e-commerce in New York. And I spent, I don't know, a half a million or a million dollars of the 15 million I raised on Profit, and I'm, my board approved it to do the strategy, the brand positioning, and help me fill some positions in the short term I didn't have. And then when we sold Profit, we were selling Profit to Dentsu. Dentsu originally offered me, I think, like $38 million for the company. And then they came back and said, "We're lowering it to 30 or 33," I forget, because those revenues you get from Brand Farm that Scott controls are related party revenues. You guys-

   5. KSKara Swisher15:31

      Oh.

   6. SGScott Galloway15:31

      ... did not go out and actually show that you can get that revenue (laughs) -

   7. KSKara Swisher15:34

      Right. Fair point.

   8. SGScott Galloway15:35

      ... without someone who's gonna, who's gonna get it on the back end.

   9. KSKara Swisher15:38

      Right.

   10. SGScott Galloway15:38

       AOL was investing-

   11. KSKara Swisher15:40

       Very true.

   12. SGScott Galloway15:40

       ... in all these small or, and medium-sized e-commerce companies, getting shares in exchange. So, it's, it's, it's a neutral balance sheet item, because they now have the shares on their balance sheet, in exchange for them using all of that capital to invest on AOL, which would juice their top line such that they could go sell a company worth 10 billion for 150 (laughs) to Time Warner.

   13. KSKara Swisher16:03

       Yeah.

   14. SGScott Galloway16:03

       This is late stage bubble. So-

   15. KSKara Swisher16:06

       Yeah. I got big Myra Berlow, uh, David Colburn vibes (laughs) . I was like, that's-

   16. SGScott Galloway16:10

       Oh my God. It's so funny you say that, right?

   17. KSKara Swisher16:12

       That's nice.

   18. SGScott Galloway16:12

       All this-

   19. KSKara Swisher16:12

       Oh, that's good.

   20. SGScott Galloway16:13

       ... all this shell game-

   21. KSKara Swisher16:14

       Hi, guys.

   22. SGScott Galloway16:14

       ... to try and figure out how to juice... I mean, we w- we were all selling, like, software and stuff to each other.

   23. KSKara Swisher16:20

       Right, right.

   24. SGScott Galloway16:20

       And then when the music stopped, everything just collapsed. So there, this is-

   25. KSKara Swisher16:24

       Elon kind of did that with his investment in his own company, right? So he invested a billion in his own company, which then grew by 20 billion, so he made the money back, like, instantly. Anyway, just go ahead.

   26. SGScott Galloway16:36

       Well, this in the short term, yeah. If you can show another $100 billion in top line revenue if you're NVIDIA, that's worth more than a 2.5% dilution. That'll take the stock-

   27. KSKara Swisher16:45

       Yeah.

   28. SGScott Galloway16:45

       ... up more than 2.5%, or at least-

   29. KSKara Swisher16:47

       Yeah.

   30. SGScott Galloway16:47

       ... or at least support-
4. 21:54 – 28:57

   Tylenol Maker Stock Down

   1. KSKara Swisher21:54

      Stock for Tylenol maker Kenvue is down 7% in the last five days after President Trump's announcement that the medicine may be linked to autism. Tylenol alone generates an estimated $1 billion in annual sales for the company. The company has added information to its frequently asked question section stating there's no scientific evidence to back up the link, citing public health organizations that agree, including lots of doctors who are Republican, everyone else. The FDA still has initiated a process for a label change to products containing the drug, saying ingredients are associated with a higher risk of autism. Actually, the highest risk of autism is, is genetics, especially among older men. There's all kinds of actual science around autism, and it's a very complex issue. Um, what would you do here if you were the head of Kenvue? And by the way, uh, Tylenol used to be o- owned famously by J&J, and sold it to this company. Um, uh, what i- what i- what would you do here? Like, uh, this is crazy. Like, would you sue the president 'cause, or, or what?

   2. SGScott Galloway22:50

      Oh, yeah, I'd absolutely go on the offensive. I think this is a, kind of a textbook definition of defamation, uh, that there's no, there's no real science. I mean, there have been some observational studies that have shown a prolonged, that prolonged acetaminophen use during pregnancy is associated with higher rates of neural, neurodevelopmental disorders in children, but these studies aren't controlled, meaning that they aren't really legitimate studies that qualify as science yet. And also, the reality is, and on my other, uh, pod, Raging Moderates, Jess Tarlov actually got, you know, emotional. She's like, "This is the only-"

   3. KSKara Swisher23:23

      Only thing.

   4. SGScott Galloway23:23

      "... l- this is the only safe alternative-

   5. KSKara Swisher23:25

      It is. I-

   6. SGScott Galloway23:26

      "... for pregnant women."

   7. KSKara Swisher23:27

      Yes.

   8. SGScott Galloway23:27

      This is it.

   9. KSKara Swisher23:28

      I was pregnant also, and it was the only safe altern- the only one they'll, they'll r- it's ridiculous what he was saying.

   10. SGScott Galloway23:32

       It's, so what are-

   11. KSKara Swisher23:32

       And it's actually, the science is so bad on it, and actually some of those studies don't even have, uh, a study... They're not complete studies. They didn't, I forget what the expression is, but it's not, they're not actually... The o- the ones that are showing show very complex things and often genetics, like twins who have it have it, all kinds, there's a lot of genetic, uh, issues. But should they take legal action? Do, would y- w- should they, and who, and who do they sue? Th- to the president, right? Correct?

   12. SGScott Galloway23:59

       I don't know what the rules are around, there is a certain blanket protection that when p- it's hard, it's hard to sue public officials if they can show there's no malice i- eh, that they can get it wrong, but generally speaking, the government has fair, my understanding is fairly broad protections. Uh, but I would absolutely go on offense and say, "There's no science to support this," and I would have, run commercials of women saying... (laughs) I mean, there are, there are women who-... their, their pregnancies would just be tangibly more miserable-

   13. KSKara Swisher24:34

       Yes.

   14. SGScott Galloway24:35

       ... without Tylenol.

   15. KSKara Swisher24:35

       You're looking at one.

   16. SGScott Galloway24:37

       Right. So, so for them, uh, with, with, with RFK Jr. in the background and his junk, weird voodoo science, for them to say something like this and for it to have an impact on this, what do you have? You're saying something not true without proper diligence about your statements that has serious economic harm. They lost 10% of their market cap here.

   17. KSKara Swisher24:59

       Yeah.

   18. SGScott Galloway25:00

       And I think they need to say... Are they- I mean, the temptation will be just go underground, just stay out of his way, people will look at the science, doctors will tell pregnant women, "No, you can take Tylenol." I would, I would absolutely play offense and say-

   19. KSKara Swisher25:15

       Yeah.

   20. SGScott Galloway25:15

       ... "This is outrageous. It is not true, and you owe us 10% of our market cap." I don't know the legal protection the President has, and- but even- I don't think it results in a settlement where the President or the White House or the government has to pay them, but I think for optics, they need to say, "We are so confident in Tylenol's use that when someone says this-"

   21. KSKara Swisher25:36

       Yeah. Yeah.

   22. SGScott Galloway25:36

       "... we want the science exposed, examined, and scrutinized by a judge, a jury, and the experts that both sides bring in."

   23. KSKara Swisher25:46

       Yeah, that- that worked when J&J had that crisis around Th- uh, remember the- the tampering and everything else. Um, they were very aggressive.

   24. SGScott Galloway25:53

       I do a- an entire session in brand strategy on crisis management.

   25. KSKara Swisher25:56

       Mm-hmm.

   26. SGScott Galloway25:57

       And the premier case study across all crisis management is Tylenol.

   27. KSKara Swisher26:02

       Yeah.

   28. SGScott Galloway26:02

       And that is... I forget what it was. Some madman tampered with Tylenol and put cyanide in it. A couple people take it, they drop dead, and then tragedy on tragedy, the people who, who took their, their loved ones to the morgue or to the hospital then returned home and had terrible headaches, and what did they do? They took Tylenol and died. And the temptation in the response that most companies would probably have taken up is the following, "This is an isolated incident, you have nothing to worry about." Tylenol said, and o- Johnson & Johnson said, "Clear every shelf of every box of Tylenol until we know exactly what happened and we can put more tamper-proof packaging back on the shelves." It cost them tens of millions of dollars. I mean, they... Basically the next day, where Tylenol was, or within 48 hours, it was empty, and it ended up, uh, really restoring and creating a ton of trust in Johnson & Johnson and sort of served as the model for crisis management, and there are only three things you have to remember in crisis management but they're really difficult to do. One, you acknowledge the problem, right? "This happened. This was terrible. It happened with our product." Two, the top guy or gal has to be out in front, and one of the reasons Exxon got in so much trouble with the Valdez was the CEO couldn't be found. And then the third thing and the hardest thing to do is to over-correct, and that is you don't... The, the, the temptation is to under-correct and not get it in the way of your business. No, no, no. You clear all shelves.

   29. KSKara Swisher27:32

       Right.

   30. SGScott Galloway27:33

       And so actually Johnson & Johnson is considered, like, the- the- literally the prototype for crisis management.
5. 28:57 – 32:04

   YouTube to Reinstate Banned Accounts

   1. KSKara Swisher28:57

      YouTube says it will reinstate accounts previously banned for posting misinformation about COVID-19 in the 2020 election. The decision comes in response to House Republican investigation into whether the Biden administration pressured tech companies to remove certain content. Previously banned accounts includes Children's Health Defense Fund affiliated with RFK Jr., and, uh, Republican Senator Ron Johnson. It's a- it's a move to appease the administration, you know, essentially, and it's what they... They- they never wanted to do it in the first place and it's not... there's not much clear evidence there was- there was the kind of pressure these people are making up. But that said, um, this is to- this is a- a countermove to appease the current administration, and then they'll do a countermove if there's another administration doing something like this, so.

   2. SGScott Galloway29:39

      Yeah, I don't... This is- this kind of... I don't know. Uh, uh, uh, every... The most popular platforms in the world moderate, and, uh, so the- the amount of moderation or lack thereof has become a b- bit of a political football or litmus test. So yeah, fine, I don't- I don't, uh... On YouTube, on all of these platforms you can get to pretty dark, ugly content pretty fast, so I don't... You know, the- the free speech, the free speechers, if you will, aren't true free speechers. What they are is they want speech that they feel helps them and they wanna- they wanna censor speech that they don't. It's-

   3. KSKara Swisher30:21

      Right.

   4. SGScott Galloway30:22

      The people fighting for free speech are generally are the loudest ones are the ones that actually are- are-

   5. KSKara Swisher30:28

      The most censorious.

   6. SGScott Galloway30:30

      ... are the censors, so.

   7. KSKara Swisher30:30

      Yeah. Agreed.

   8. SGScott Galloway30:30

      You know, so th- this is the same administration (laughs) that wants to tell late night talk show hosts what to do, so-

   9. KSKara Swisher30:37

      Yeah.

   10. SGScott Galloway30:37

       ... fine, have it. Have at it, and what's so disappointing again is that just as Iger should have said, "Okay-"... I'm gonna sacrifice maybe some shareholder value here and do the right thing. I think at some point, these platforms have to say, "This is our approach to moderations. (laughs) We're happy to listen to you, but you're not gonna dictate it." Because mo- uh, free speech is not only-

   11. KSKara Swisher31:00

       They don't wanna moderate, Scott.

   12. SGScott Galloway31:01

       But-

   13. KSKara Swisher31:01

       They don't wanna moderate. It costs them money, it gets them nothing but headaches.

   14. SGScott Galloway31:04

       I, I, I agree with you. But the question is, everyone moderates, it's, it's where, it's where, it's where the line is. And at some point you'd like to think one of these guys is gonna say, "This is our policy and we're sticking with it." 'Cause free speech is not only about letting people say shit, it's about your right to not say shit on your platform. (laughs)

   15. KSKara Swisher31:26

       Or take, you know, and, and the-

   16. SGScott Galloway31:27

       Or take it down.

   17. KSKara Swisher31:28

       ... Supreme Court has backed these companies on this stuff too.

   18. SGScott Galloway31:30

       Yeah.

   19. KSKara Swisher31:30

       So, the, the lack of courage here to do what they wanna do and, they just don't care. I, it's, it's-

   20. SGScott Galloway31:35

       They're private companies.

   21. KSKara Swisher31:36

       I get, but they don't care. They don't care-

   22. SGScott Galloway31:38

       Yeah.

   23. KSKara Swisher31:38

       ... the damage they cause-

   24. SGScott Galloway31:39

       Yeah.

   25. KSKara Swisher31:39

       Uh, and it's led by Mark Zuckerberg in that regard. I, I, I was so tired of arguing this point with him, um, and he pretended he was a free speech person. He certainly wasn't, he doesn't really care. He doesn't care, he doesn't care. He doesn't care to run a classy joint. Anyway, uh, let's go on a quick break. When we come back, we'll talk about, uh, reigniting of the fight over whether businesses can't refuse service. This is a fascinating story. Scott, we're back

6. 32:04 – 37:40

   When Can a Business Refuse Service?

   1. KSKara Swisher32:04

      with more news. Attorney General Pam Bondi is investigating Office Depot after employees refused to print a memorial poster for conservative activist Charlie Kirk. She's threatening prosecution for political discrimination. The company fired the workers, but legal experts say government action would violate the First Amendment since political beliefs aren't federally protected. The case echoes the Colorado baker who won the Supreme Court, uh, right to refuse same sex wedding services. He didn't wanna bake a cake for the gays. Um, this is amazing. Again, these people, they were for that, but against this. And these people can get fired from Office Dep- That's Office Depot's business if they don't, n- n- they can do whatever they want. But these people don't have to make those signs if they don't want to. And if you believe in the cake thing, at the time of the cake thing, I was like, it did run into some state rules. Look, if a baker doesn't want to bake a cake for a gay, a same sex wedding, we don't want your shitty cake. I don't know what to say, like, in this. And it's the same, it's the same, every accusation is a confession of these people. They just literally shift and were never really believing in it when they first did it, or they don't believe in it now, or I don't know. What would you do if you were the CEO of a company with this problem, Scott?

   2. SGScott Galloway33:14

      I probably would've fired them. I, I think, look, it, it sucks to be a grownup and it, and it's your right not to do it, uh, but it's, that means you're probably not gonna get a paycheck 'cause every day a lot of people show up and when you cash someone else's check, you agree to do occasionally things you don't wanna do. I think there is a difference though with the bakery, and I don't know the semantics of the law, but I think that was refusing service, effectively refusing service based on someone's sexual orientation. And I think that is against the law. I think refusing s-

   3. KSKara Swisher33:42

      It was in a state, but the Supreme Court sided with the cake people.

   4. SGScott Galloway33:46

      With the cake people?

   5. KSKara Swisher33:47

      Yeah. Mm-hmm.

   6. SGScott Galloway33:47

      Fair enough. Thank you for that. Whereas this is, the moment you say to employees as big and as varied in Office Depot, "You don't have to participate in certain things that offend your politics," watch out. "Well, these people, uh, I'm not going to help this, this company buy the lumber for the office building down the street for the government because I think the government is committing, you know, war crimes."

   7. KSKara Swisher34:17

      Yeah.

   8. SGScott Galloway34:17

      I, it just, uh-

   9. KSKara Swisher34:18

      Well, it happened at Google, Microsoft, uh, it happ- people can... Listen, everybody, you can't object. You may have a consequence-

   10. SGScott Galloway34:24

       Yeah.

   11. KSKara Swisher34:24

       ... to your objections is what you're saying.

   12. SGScott Galloway34:26

       Yeah, uh, you're, you know, I like what you said, you don't wanna eat at Chick-fil-A, you don't eat at Chick-fil-A. You wanna, you wanna walk out during lunch at Google to show, to protest Google working with the Defense Department, good for you. That says fucking nothing. It, it's you totally virtue signaling, but if you start creating, making it harder for Google to do their business, the, this, the leaders of the company get to decide who they work with and you get to decide if you wanna work there or not. (laughs)

   13. KSKara Swisher34:52

       Yeah, exactly.

   14. SGScott Galloway34:53

       And if you don't wanna work on certain accounts, you can say that and, I mean, most people are reasonable and they'll say, "Okay, fine," and whatever, get someone else to print the things. But generally speaking, e- they're at-will employees and o-

   15. KSKara Swisher35:07

       Yeah.

   16. SGScott Galloway35:07

       ... and, and printing up a Charlie Kirk poster, there's nothing illegal about it. There's, I don't think there's anything wrong about it. If it offends your sensibilities, okay, I get it, but folks, it sucks to be a grownup.

   17. KSKara Swisher35:20

       Yeah. I just think people should also be able to say no and then reap the consequences, that's all. I think they should be able to say no, there's a, you can't, Pam Bondi's saying there-

   18. SGScott Galloway35:28

       Well-

   19. KSKara Swisher35:28

       ... she's gonna prosecute them for political discrimination. Shut the fuck up, Pam. Stop.

   20. SGScott Galloway35:33

       Didn't he fire the employees?

   21. KSKara Swisher35:34

       Yeah, they fired them. That's the-

   22. SGScott Galloway35:35

       So what is-

   23. KSKara Swisher35:35

       ... that's, that's-

   24. SGScott Galloway35:36

       ... what, what is she suing them for? (laughs)

   25. KSKara Swisher35:37

       I have no idea. She has no right to do so.

   26. SGScott Galloway35:39

       (laughs)

   27. KSKara Swisher35:39

       She has no right to do so.

   28. SGScott Galloway35:41

       What, like-

   29. KSKara Swisher35:42

       It's called the First Amendment, Pam. As usual, you don't know what it says for some reason even. (laughs) It's just ridiculous. It's just ridiculous.

   30. SGScott Galloway35:49

       Again-
7. 37:40 – 46:48

   Predictions

   1. KSKara Swisher37:40

      Scott, uh, let's hear a prediction.

   2. SGScott Galloway37:43

      Well, this is where we are. Uh, uh, we're gonna see a Time Warner-like acquisition that's gonna be unprecedented in scale and also, um, a disaster, because what you have is you have companies... And basically 55% of the gains in the S&P since 2021 have been driven by 10 companies. And these c- companies are now so far out over their skis in terms of valuation that it's the equivalent of, say, you have a pre-loaded credit card. My kids have the Greenlight credit card where we load it for them. If you're trading at three or $4 trillion in value and you're really smart and you look at, okay, traditionally, a company like this would be worth one to one and a half, it's like having two and a half trillion dollars on your credit card that likely will go away if you don't spend it. And so I think these companies, I think we're gonna see, and I said this last week, a series of not only the biggest M&A deals in history, but I think we're gonna see, um, a company that in three to five years will be seen as the most disastrous M&A deal in history. These guys, these guys are absolutely about to go, um, shopping, and they're just gonna get so promiscuous and do so many, so many weird things, so many related-party transactions, this NVIDIA thing, this OpenAI thing is so strange. But my, my, um... I just wanted to take a moment, um, on a tangential issue that has nothing to do with a pred- a prediction, but for those of you... I keep getting served, uh, all of these Instagrams of all these adorable dogs that are at, uh, shelters. So, uh, people surrendering their pets, they, they are... Uh, the NASDAQ and the Dow Jones are the worst indices, in my opinion, in history 'cause they give people the illusory notion that the economy is fine. S- the top 10% are now responsible for 50% of consumer spending. Sales of Hamburger Helper are up, which is a negative-looking forward indicator on the health of the middle and lower income, uh... Pawnshops are booming. There's just a lot of signals that, that the economy is not good on the Main Street economy, and one of those signals is that people surrendering their pets-

   3. KSKara Swisher39:51

      Oh, interesting.

   4. SGScott Galloway39:51

      ... has gone way up. And just-

   5. KSKara Swisher39:55

      Can't afford them.

   6. SGScott Galloway39:55

      ... a quick add- just a quick add for, for, uh, in terms of mental health, joy, things that are great for your kids, just generally, if you're worried about crime, the... literally the best security system you could ever have is a dog. It teaches your kids about loss, responsibility. Uh, dogs have been arguably the most accretive thing, maybe next to exercise, the most accretive thing for my mental health, and these shelters are literally overwhelmed. In addition-

   7. KSKara Swisher40:24

      Yeah.

   8. SGScott Galloway40:24

      ... my plug for a rescue dog. I've had purebreds and rescues. Rescues are... Rescues and mutts are hands down the best breed of dog.

   9. KSKara Swisher40:35

      Yep.

   10. SGScott Galloway40:35

       They are healthier. They are happier. It's as if they know they owe you. So, there is... If you just type in "how to adopt a dog" into Google, there are so many shelters that are so desperate, and not only that, have so many fantastic dogs right now. So, if you're thinking to yourself, "I'd love something that reduces my stress, I'd love something that provides me with a great deal of additional security, I'm, I'm, I, I wanna take responsibility for something and have something that loves me unconditionally, I wanna give my kids something that will teach them responsibility and care and love," and you wanna feel more mammal and you wanna feel more connected and just every day you want, uh, consistent tiny bursts of joy in your life,-

   11. KSKara Swisher41:20

       Every day.

   12. SGScott Galloway41:20

       ... think about adopting a dog.

   13. KSKara Swisher41:22

       Yeah.

   14. SGScott Galloway41:22

       There has never been a better time to adopt a dog, 'cause there are a ton-

   15. KSKara Swisher41:27

       Yeah, I just, uh-

   16. SGScott Galloway41:28

       ... of won- wonderful dogs out there right now.

   17. KSKara Swisher41:29

       ... I will add, all of the dogs I've ever had have been rescue dogs, and I'm thinking of getting another dog soon. Um, it's, uh... The- it's the wonder- most wonderful thing you do, and, uh, there, there are some amazing rescue, uh, operations going on, and it is an indicator of people... Giving up dogs means they can't afford them or the difficulty level, et cetera, et cetera, and so it is an indicator. But if you can adopt a dog, it's a w- one... It's a really... It will give... It will pay off over the course of your life.

   18. SGScott Galloway41:54

       And you can go on Instagram, and if you type in the name-

   19. KSKara Swisher41:56

       Yeah.

   20. SGScott Galloway41:56

       ... if you just say, "Shelters in, you know, Brooklyn," you type it into Instagram, you will literally see videos of the dogs that are available. You don't even have-

   21. KSKara Swisher42:03

       Oh, fricking...

   22. SGScott Galloway42:04

       ... to go down.

   23. KSKara Swisher42:04

       I'm gonna get a dog, Scott.

   24. SGScott Galloway42:05

       What's that?

   25. KSKara Swisher42:05

       I'm gonna get a dog now. Thank you.

   26. SGScott Galloway42:07

       Oh, you should. They're just-

   27. KSKara Swisher42:08

       I've had a dog my whole life. This is the only time. But my cat's been peeing on the rug, so it's been a little much.

   28. SGScott Galloway42:13

       So, you're bringing in a dog to get the cat in shape?

   29. KSKara Swisher42:15

       (laughs) No, I just... It's just like... When, when that starts... My cat is older. When it starts to happen, it... you sort of like, "Oh, pets." Uh, but I...

   30. SGScott Galloway42:22

       Mm-hmm.

Episode duration: 46:48