EVERY SPOKEN WORD
45 min read · 9,220 words- 0:00 – 0:21
Intro
- KSKara Swisher
To take a product like this that is not broken and break it, at some point you have to wonder what it's all about.
- SGScott Galloway
They've decided to perform open heart surgery on the healthiest person in the franchise.
- KSKara Swisher
[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
The big story
- 0:21 – 11:49
“60 Minutes” Drama
- KSKara Swisher
in media this week is 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley is out at CBS. Pelley's firing came after he accused CBS News chief Barry Weiss of murdering 60 Minutes according to a leaked audio from staff meeting. He also told the show's new EP Nick Bilton, a longtime tech journalist and filmmaker, someone I know, that his qualifications run 60 Minutes, to run 60 Minutes were slender. That is accurate. Bilton sent Pelley a letter on Tuesday saying he'd been terminated for cause effective immediately. It was a terribly written letter, Nick. It really was embarrassment to you. M- Barry Weiss later sent an editorial call that Pelley was fired because the foundation of trust had been broken. After his firing, though, Pelley wrote in a statement, "Incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc." He also wrote a response to her letter and what she was saying to the staff, and then recounted word for word, he looks like he must have taken notes during the whole thing, uh, exactly what happened and said, basically called them liars about that they didn't try to get together. I thought, Pelley, they should not mess with this guy. He's a really good reporter, [laughs] and they are. They're, they're being disingenuous, I think mendacious actually. Uh, this is the guy, Tom, whatever his name is, uh, all of them. They're just... They're really... They're, they're lathering themselves in dishonor. Um, 60 Minutes has been on the air since 1968. I just... You know, you're not a media person. This is of course illuminating media people. One of my disappointments here is the journalism is getting lost in all of this drama. This is not, this is not... Nobody's talking about the stories, which is what 60 Minutes has been astonishing about. And the fact that they could just... That he was asking normal questions. Why did you fire all these really good people, including Tanya Simon, who ran the show and took it to new heights? Why did you fire these other correspondents, Cecilia, uh, Vega and, uh, Sharyn Alfonsi? Why did you fire them? And they wouldn't give an answer. And I think it's very appropriate that he asked, and they were trying to act like he was, like, that he was throwing a tantrum. He absolutely was not. I'm sorry, he wasn't. He was being a reporter. So your thoughts?
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, I don't... So, uh, you know my view. I, I think media and journalists tend to think they're more precious than they are.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
And I don't buy the notion that journalism is... I, I understand the, the chill that Tr- the Trump administration is trying to put on different outlets, and I have heard from producers that it has created a chill. But I'm, I've said this before, I wish The Washington Post would just go away already. I'm sick of talking about it.
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
Because I do think the most talented journalists, I think there's a huge ecosystem of interesting companies doing great work. And 60 Minutes, uh, I, I think the world would survive without it. Having said that, I just look at it through a business lens. When you're in an industry that's in structural decline, and you have a product that's up 9% year on year, you don't fuck with it.
- KSKara Swisher
Right, and building-
- SGScott Galloway
[laughs]
- KSKara Swisher
... and doing well digitally. That was dis- very disingenuous in their memos. It's doing very well digitally, actually, because-
- SGScott Galloway
I, it's literally like, okay, Phil Jackson's job at the Chicago Bulls wasn't to be the boss and disrupt the Bulls. It was to get along with Michael Jordan. The job of CBS management right now is to get along with 60 Minutes.
- KSKara Swisher
I think it's a little more serious than that because I think you're leaving out the Trump thing. I... Each of these people-
- SGScott Galloway
That's fair
- KSKara Swisher
... have said that these particular managers are trying to fuck with the stories, to try to shade them. Pelley is making this allegation. Sharyn made this allegation publicly. Uh, uh, uh, Cecilia Vega made this a- These are very professional people. These are the top of their game, right? It's not like whiny, righteous... This, they're not being whiny, righteous. They're like, "What are you doing?" Like these are-
- SGScott Galloway
Agreed
- KSKara Swisher
... they're doing great work-
- SGScott Galloway
Yep
- KSKara Swisher
... and then you fuck with them? Like, because-
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, it makes no sense
- KSKara Swisher
... and then the excuse is... And by the way, I'm sorry, I don't know Barry Weiss. I do know Nick Bilton. None... You are not qualified compared to these people. I wouldn't be qualified to run this, right? Like, the fact that they think they can give instructions to these people, I, I, I wouldn't have the arrogance to think I was better than them. And the excuse they're using is that, um, the excuse they're using is that, "Well, we're gonna, we're gonna fix it before it goes downhill." That's their excuse. "Well, it's inevitably gonna go downhill, and therefore we're gonna fix it." Let me tell you, I have more digital experience than both of you, and you are, you have, don't know what you're talking about because first of all, you're being disingenuous about their digital stuff, which is doing okay. And secondly, this is not the way to do it, by wrecking it. This, wreck it in order to save the village? We're gonna bomb the village to save the village? This is nonsense at, on every level. And I am someone who knows more than both of them put together, and I still have room for more. And I'm a, uh, I'm, I'm an actual journalist. Uh, Nick is a journalist. I'm still higher on the food chain than he is. I'm sorry. And one of the things is that they're not talking about the journalism, and these three people that they fired, and Tanya Simon, are amazing journalists. And they should thank them for their existence, and instead, because they need to shade things with the Tr- And I do believe these reporters, they are trying to shade the news in, in, in service of Trump. And therefore, they are minions to the powerful owners who own them, which are the Ellisons, and that's where the real problem is, is these people, uh, are, these people are, have a whole nother game going on. And it's, it's, to, to take a product like this that is not broken and break it is... At some point you have to wonder what it's all about. That's my view.
- SGScott Galloway
They're, they've decided to perform open heart surgery on the healthiest person in the franchise.
- KSKara Swisher
Yep.
- SGScott Galloway
It's just-
- KSKara Swisher
Excellent way to put it
- SGScott Galloway
... and I, I, I don't know Nick well, but I've been on his podcast. I think he's a talented producer-
- KSKara Swisher
He is
- SGScott Galloway
... a talented journalist. I don't... But in my view, I'm not sure a journalist should be running it. I think it should be a Jeff Zucker-like character-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... who has tremendous respect for journalism.
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
But quite frankly, he's just a really strong manager. I think the person that shows up to [laughs] 60 Minutes says, "How can I help? Well done. Uh, uh, call me when you, when... How, how can I help?" But the, what, the, the narrative they're putting out there is the followingYou disrupt from a point of strength. Okay, uh, as someone who teaches strategy, [laughs] these people don't-- They're using the wrong words. Disruptors are small companies that go after fat incumbents and start eating up from a small niche.
- 11:49 – 23:25
Trump’s Intel Pick
- KSKara Swisher
named Bill Pulte, who runs the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as the new acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard, who's stepping down. Pulte is best known for accusing several of Trump's enemies of mortgage fraud, none of which went anywhere, including New York AG Letitia James. He has no known experience in intelligence, I'm not sure he's intelligent, defense, or national security. He's called Little Trump. That's his qualifications. It's unclear whether Trump will ask the Senate to confirm Pulte. By law, anyone nominated for this role must have extensive national security expertise. Republicans are attacking him. Uh, you saw several Republicans saying he has no expertise. Democrats, especially like our, our friend Mark Warner, uh, is losing his mind over this. Um, this, th-this, uh, uh, th- it's not the same. Nick is very confident, but this guy is incompetent.This guy is incompetent at this job, and all he does is, like, you know, he's -- he, like, steps on a rake every five minutes and hits his head. I mean, the -- and the same thing with Todd Blanche, who he -- Trump caved on his slush fund. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was Trump's personal attorney, says the DOJ is abandoning plans for that $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who claim they were unfairly investigated. It was a rare instance of congressional Republicans pushing back and winning. Uh, Trump is still getting, uh, carte blanche on his tax issues, um, through this deal. I can't believe that, why we're giving him free, a free pass there. Your thoughts?
- SGScott Galloway
So some context. The reason the position was created, the director of national intelligence, was after 9/11, policymakers concluded that there was a lack of coordination amongst our 18 intelligence agencies. So there was, there was really str- there was really great intelligence pre-9/11 that something like this might happen, but the lack of coordination meant the right information didn't bubble up to the right people in time. And I don't think it's fair to call him an incompetent. He's just not qualified, which is kind of the same thing. But I, I-
- KSKara Swisher
Well, incompetent to this task.
- SGScott Galloway
Agreed. Agreed. So let's just [laughs] let's just review the past directors of national intelligence, their background. So let's start with Tulsi Gabbard to be fair. Combat veteran, military officer, member of Congress, House Armed Services Committee. Uh, Avril Haines, deputy CIA director, deputy national security advisor. Um, John Ratcliffe, congressman, House Intelligence Committee member, former federal prosecutor. Dan Coats-
- KSKara Swisher
Now head of the CIA, by the way. Go ahead
- SGScott Galloway
... Dan Coats, senator, ambassador to Germany, member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. James Clapper, former undersecretary of defense for intelligence, decades of military intelligence. Dennis Blair, four-star admiral, former commander of US Pacific Command overseeing, uh, Indo-Pacific military operations. Mike McConnell, former director of the NSA, vice admiral, career intelligence professional. John Negroponte, 40-year diplomat, ambassador to Iraq, UN ambassador, director of national intelligence created after 9/11 reforms. And Bill Pulte, I, I'm gonna say this, he's a rich kid who builds fucking homes in Fort Myers.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. That's right.
- SGScott Galloway
And he might be a nice man. He might be very competent. He might be a brilliant businessman. He's 38, and he picks out sub-zeros for homes and retirement communities-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... and scales-
- KSKara Swisher
That's a big job. That's a big job, Scott.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, okay, uh-
- KSKara Swisher
No, I'm teasing. It's not a big job
- SGScott Galloway
... the, the notion that... Look, this is going to put our, our, [laughs] our, our servicemen and servicewomen in, in-
- KSKara Swisher
Harm's way
- SGScott Galloway
... in danger unnecessarily and recklessly. Two, do you think the Mossad or MI6 are gonna continue to share information with our intelligence agencies?
- KSKara Swisher
They must be cheering in Russia and China right now.
- SGScott Galloway
And also, I, I, I think the American public is guilty of this. I don't think the American... I think the American public has taken for granted the depth, experience, and commitment of what is the best-performing organization in the world, and that is the US government, and how deep the expertise is of-
- KSKara Swisher
Expertise, yes
- SGScott Galloway
... of people who decide to forgo a lot of wealth and lifestyle to go to work for our in- our intelligence community, our government, our diplomatic corps, our defense department, and we're putting in, in one of the most dangerous thing that is now starting to bubble up as we see in missteps in Iran and oth- and other places-
- KSKara Swisher
They're unprepared for their meetings. They're sending in Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Are you kid- They are... This is what Hillary was saying. They're running circles around us. The Iranians send in, like, very qualified people to-
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah
- KSKara Swisher
... these negotiations, and instead, we send in people that didn't have any idea they were gonna close the Strait of Hormuz. Like, why would it occur to them since they're not... Uh, this is, th-this lack of expertise, and I'm t- it is a real thing. It's like, you know, it's like someone coming to me and saying, "I think you need to lead the New York Knicks to victory." It's like, "No." Like, I have no qualifications to do so. And this kind of thing, the, the reason he was hired, two reasons, I think, is, one, he's called Little Trump. Um, he's, he... Listen, I don't think he's a nice person. I've seen him interviewed. He, he seems like an idiot. But besides, he seems like a pompous ass. I think he was selected so Trump can control the whole thing. He has to put these mi- unqualified minions into place. It's always the case with anyone who puts someone who's not qualified in place, which is they wanna control the situation. And Trump himself is unqualified to run this situation, too, by the way. Um, and, and this is what, what happens, and that's very dangerous. Same thing with Todd Blanche. He was his lawyer, and now he's doing his, his, uh, his scut work for him, essentially. This, this, this slush fund, are you kidding? Like, giving him, you know, carte blanche in, in taxes.
- SGScott Galloway
The Terrorist Immunization Fund?
- KSKara Swisher
Correct. G- That's correct. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Look-
- KSKara Swisher
The private militia fund is what I call it
- SGScott Galloway
... you know, I, I, I never miss an opportunity to try and sound important. I've been on a pu- bunch of public boards, and a general unwritten rule... So think about it. The CEO answers to a board that's supposed to be a fiduciary for all shareholders. The president, everyone needs a boss. Everyone should and does answer to somebody. The president no longer answers to coequal branches of government. Uh, Republican Congress has been neutered. Uh, uh, you know, the, the speaker of the house is basically, uh, just doing, he's, he's just doing the dirty work for the president. He's not, he's not in any way giving his Republican colleagues a, a seat at the table here. He's trying to run roughshod over them based on what the president wants. The Supreme Court, I would argue, has been, um, politicized. I think a series of appointments have created certain decisions that I would argue, uh, don't have a hell of a lot of fidelity to the Constitution, but to conservative values or what the president wants. Not always. I do think they do hold a line on some things, but I would argue that it is no longer, uh, oversight for the president. The only people that provide any sort of checks and balance for Trump right now are, are, are voters. And the first thing you notice on a board, or one of the first things you notice with experienced board members in terms of how they evaluate a CEO, is a lot of CEOshave had to be in a closet in a knife fight for so long to get to where they are, that a lot of CEOs have a tendency to shoot talented people on their team who might be the next CEO. And you end up with a talented CEO who has a really weak infrastructure of senior managers. And one of the first tests on a board to see if a CEO is a good CEO is how often is he bringing in, highlighting, and praising other senior managers? And if he were or she were to get hit by a bus, if you're running a public company and there aren't two or three people that could potentially be the CEO, you are not a CEO. And you see it all the time. You see these CEOs who all of a sudden start shooting talented people who are recruited away to go be the CEO of another company because it was clear they were not... Y- your job as a CEO is to immediately say to the most talented people, "I'm gonna be here three, four, eight years, and if you stick around, there's a shot you're gonna be CEO, and I'm gonna help prepare you to be CEO of this company or somewhere else."
- KSKara Swisher
But that never ha- It's got, it always happens this way. They always sort of amass power. They don't wanna be replaced. They shoot their minions in the, in the head just so they can stay in place.
- SGScott Galloway
I've worked with some CEOs who, who are very good at maturing, maturing managers and recognize it's their responsibility to mo- I, I think Tim Co- I think Apple has five potential CEOs in the management ranks.
- 23:25 – 31:30
California Primaries
- KSKara Swisher
Scott, we're back with more news. Let's get into the primary races in California. What a fucking mess this is. As we record on Wednesday, ballots for California's governor's race are still being counted, with the Republican Steve Hilton and Democratic, uh, Xavier Becerra in the lead. In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass holds the lead in results, but it became the first, city's first sitting mayor since 20- 2005 to fail to earn 50% of votes required to avoid a runoff. As we tape, the race for the second runoff spot is too close to call, with Spencer Pratt currently in the lead. Let's listen to a clip we got from co-founder of Run for Something, Amanda Litman, about the situation.
- SPSpeaker
Hi, Kara. Hi, Scott. So I will say it's still a little early to have some hot takes on the California election results. We'll know more at the end of the day today on Wednesday. However, a few things I am noticing, how much money does or does [laughs] not matter. You know, Tom Steyer spent upwards of 200 million of his own dollars on this campaign, maybe more. Seems like unless the results come back differently and the ballots they're counting now, he's not gonna make it to November. Meanwhile, down in LA, Spencer Pratt, even if he doesn't make it all the way to the runoff, we'll see how these ballots come in for Nithya, really modeled a new way of doing this. Mega viral user-generated AI videos, um, breaking through with really authentic video, capitalizing on the honestly candidate-agnostic media ecosystem the right has built. We have to be prepared for this. We cannot just spend our way into victory. We have to capture attention in order to win. That means interesting candidates. That means engaging messages. That means sometimes a little bit more risk tolerance.We've gotta be willing to lean in and be a little bit more unscripted, and that is something that is v- very, very hard for Democrats to do, but is the only way we're going to be able to capture the voters we need this fall.
- KSKara Swisher
Interesting. That's very smart. I agree with her, I gotta say. Uh, we talked this a little sort of about Glenn Platner, the same thing, is that, you know, are you gonna expect perfection or results essentially? Uh, thoughts on this? Thoughts on this situation in California? My son voted for Tom Steyer. Interesting, I think. I shouldn't say that, but I think that's who he voted for.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, but I, I, I actually think people, th- the story will be about Tom Steyer couldn't spend a quarter of a billion dollars to get into a runoff. It, it reminds me a little bit of Meg Whitman's campaign for governor.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, yeah. Do you remember that? I mean, I remember-
- SGScott Galloway
And that is on paper, they're very attractive candidates, but for whatever reason, they just don't resonate with voters. And I actually think it's a good thing when the, the biggest funder, it doesn't win. I think that that's actually a, a po-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... a positive. But the biggest loser in this-
- KSKara Swisher
Good point. Fair point
- SGScott Galloway
... wasn't Tom Steyer. It's the California Democratic establishment. California's the bluest large state in America, yet the dominant issues weren't about bodily autonomy, Trump, or democracy. It was affordability, housing, energy costs, insurance, homelessness. And when voters are talking about quality of life issues and cost of living, ideology takes a backseat to competence, and Democrats are not perceived as the party-
- KSKara Swisher
That is true
- SGScott Galloway
... of competence.
- KSKara Swisher
That's a very canny observation.
- SGScott Galloway
And national candidates need to take an a, a, a page here and start... Like, JB Pritzker is really focused on shit like upgrading the bond rating of, of Illinois bonds. That shit's important. It's boring, but it's really important. Um, so Steyer, the, the story will be Steyer just proved money is, is overrated right now.
- KSKara Swisher
If you're not a compelling candidate.
- SGScott Galloway
And Hil- Hilton's success is a symptom, not the story. He's not winning because California became conservative overnight. He's benefiting f- uh, he's benefiting, again, from something much more dangerous for Democrats who think the current model just isn't working. So what does California have right now? The highest housing costs in America, some of the highest energy prices, persistent homelessness, despite enormous spending, net, uh, out migration over much of the last decade. And, you know, these are governance problems, not ideological problems, and Hilton, and to a lesser extent Pratt, are vessels for that frustration. And that is-
- KSKara Swisher
I think that's a very canny way to put it. They aren't, they aren't the, they aren't something fresh. They're not g- rushing towards them.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah.
- KSKara Swisher
They're reacting against something.
- SGScott Galloway
This is why mothers voted for Trump, who have traditionally voted Democratic. If your son's in the basement playing video games and vaping, you don't give a flying fuck about territorial sovereignty in Ukraine or transgender rights. And at some point, when there are homeless people everywhere, despite reports it's costing taxpayers $70,000 per homeless person, you don't care about how thoughtful... You don't want someone cosplaying Obama. You want someone who says, "I'm gonna come in-"
- KSKara Swisher
And clean up this mess
- SGScott Galloway
... and I'm gonna be a law and order mayor, and focus on competence and getting shit done."
- KSKara Swisher
Yep, yep.
- SGScott Galloway
And by the way, anyone who does an ounce of due diligence around, which I've done a li- I've just started doing around what it means to govern in LA, all of the shitposting and criticism, a lot of it fair, the Mayor Bass gets, a lot of it is unfair, because some of it is about bureaucracy at the FEMA level. And, uh, good lu- whoever wins out, the mayor of LA, a lot of this, you know... It's actually the president of the LA County and the board of supervisors that have all the power. LA, similar to, you could argue about, California, has become ungovernable. But i- until Democrats at an executive level start showing they can improve the quality of people's life and offer them good value for the money... Every state is a product. You pay for it in taxes. You expect a product. And right now, there's just no getting around it. Democratically run products aren't gaining share. They're losing share.
- KSKara Swisher
To be fair, homelessness is an intractable problem. It's one of these most difficult problems, and California gets it 'cause of the weather and because people wanna go there. You know, Los Angeles particularly, it's a, it's a great place to be homeless compared to, like, I don't know, Montana or somewhere else.
- SGScott Galloway
It is really bad.
- KSKara Swisher
It is really bad. It is. But it, there's all these problems, like where do you begin? Because it's such a-
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah
- KSKara Swisher
... it's also an interrelated problem. So they have the worst problem of the worst of a terrible problem that's already-
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah
- 31:30 – 37:01
Apple Smart Glasses
- KSKara Swisher
last story here, Apple Smart Glasses are now expected to launch in late 2027 after the company hit some delays. More glasses from Apple, Scott. Apple is reportedly following the playbook similar to Apple Watch, focusing on driving mainstream adoption of both glasses and sunglasses. These are things that look like glasses. First generation glasses are expected, uh, to emphasize features like cameras, but Apple believes glasses could eventually evolve into a health device and incorporate augmented reality. Now, I know you've been critical of the Oculus and Apple Vision Pro. These are big, heavy units. These were, would be more like what App- what, what Meta has with their Ray-Bans or their other different things. So I, I have a feeling Apple's gonna come right up the back, up the middle and take it all. They, just like with the watch. It's, I think they'll design the best glasses, they'll work the best, um, and this is a way it goes mainstream if, if this thing is to go mainstream. Your thoughts?
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, uh, uh, uh, you're exactly right. They weren't the first in the iPod. There's... My colleague at NYU Stern is now at the Tuck School, Peter Golder, he, he has this, he, he, he taught me something that stuck with me that I thought was just a brilliant observation, and it's the focus of his research, and that is the innovator doesn't win from a shareholder perspective. The innovator gets mud on their face and arrows in their back. It's the second mouse. It's the person that learns from the innovator, who wastes a lot of capital and energy and comes in, and it's the second mouse that gets the cheese. Apple has essentially built the most valuable company in the world, now number two, on a second mouse strategy. And that is, uh, essentially Meta built this market, but Apple's gonna collect the rent.
- KSKara Swisher
They are.
- SGScott Galloway
And this has n- this is not a mixed reality headset.
- KSKara Swisher
No.
- SGScott Galloway
That shit was like a prophylactic, right? That was just stupid. Just stupid.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Meta has done the hard work. Uh, Ray-Ban reportedly sold about seven million units in 2025 and owns 85% of the category, and Apple is now entering after consumer behavior has already been validated.
- KSKara Swisher
True, right, yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
And people, Apple is the most, is the most aspirational brand globally. It says, "I'm, I'm one of the one billion people who are the most creative and wealthy people on the planet," and it is, the ultimate luxury item is an iPhone in terms of ubiquity globally. It means, it means you can afford a 12 or $1400 piece of equipment that does the exact same thing a $300 or a free phone does because you consider yourself part of the creative class and you have some, you know, rizz, if you will, economically. So Palm built the smartphone market, BlackBerry validated it, Apple captured it. Uh, Fossil and Swatch built watches, Apple captured it. And so-
- KSKara Swisher
Do, do you remember Onkyo?
- SGScott Galloway
What?
- KSKara Swisher
You remember Onkyo, the first wireless earbuds? No, you don't.
- SGScott Galloway
I don't.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. They were, I had them. Oh, Yonk- there were a whole bunch of early i- wireless earbuds, and then Apple came in and, and stole it, but it was called Onkyo. I had them. There were a bunch, uh, before, um, before the AirPods that, that... We showed a bunch of them at, at the, the co- the, our conference. Yeah. So.
- SGScott Galloway
This is, this is what I think is gonna happen. Meta spent tens of billions, uh, proving people will wear computers on their face. Apple will show up late, charge 40% more, and take 80% of the profits here. And, uh, people, the mistake people make is that people think the Valley's greatest business model is invention. It's not. It's letting someone else prove demand.
- KSKara Swisher
Yep. Yep. Yep, same thing with the AirPod. They did, they weren't the first to those, those-
- SGScott Galloway
No way
- KSKara Swisher
... music devices. They just were the best. They'll come in with beautiful glasses. They're not gonna need Ray-Ban. They'll design something gorgeous, and you'll wanna wear them.
- SGScott Galloway
They'll look beautiful, and, and if-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... if it's distinctly Apple, I mean-
- KSKara Swisher
You'll wear them
- SGScott Galloway
... I'll wear them. I'll buy it.
- KSKara Swisher
And they'll, you will totally have, like, 90 sets of them in your house 'cause you'll lose them.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, look what I have here.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, your AirPods.
- SGScott Galloway
One of my eight sets of AirPods that I consistently lose and-
- KSKara Swisher
Yep. Yep. And remember when AirPods were thought as ugly when they fir- anyway, this, they're gonna, they're gonna take this area, I think. And if they're, and if they shove... It, it has to be more than cameras. It's gotta give you information and talk to you and s- record things and everything else. It's gotta have more. I, I, I have a pair of the Ray-Bans. I don't find them useful at all. I, I, I don't, I don't, I just don't. It doesn't, doesn't
- SGScott Galloway
People like them. My kid, my kids enjoy them.
- 37:01 – 38:51
Trump’s AI Executive Order
- KSKara Swisher
Scott, we're back. President Trump has finally signed his AI executive order, and it's a paler shade of white. After scrapping a previous version at last minute a few weeks ago, the new order is scaled back version of the original. It asks AI companies to voluntarily submit their most powerful models to the government for review 30 days, rather than I think it's 90, uh, day review window. It was in an earlier version, but Trump rejected that saying it would get in the way of, uh, competition with China. The revised order comes after a White House meeting on Monday with Trump, Scott Bessent, Pete Hegseth, and former AI czar, uh, David Sacks, who gave his blessing to the new timeline. David Sacks had gotten in the way of the previous one. I'll note Sam Altman is in DC this week making the rounds. It's just dumb. It's just... It does nothing, and that's, that's my thoughts on it. Your thoughts?
- SGScott Galloway
Well, the elites in the Trump administration think the regulation is controversial, but you know who's ahead of them is the American public. Voters don't think it's controversial.
- KSKara Swisher
Nope. Nope.
- SGScott Galloway
This is, this is one of the few issues where Republicans, Democrats, parents, um, unions, and, you know, churchgoers all agree. I think this is the next great populist movement, for better or for worse.
- KSKara Swisher
I agree.
- SGScott Galloway
It won't be anti-immigration or anti-globalization. It'll be anti-AI, Kara. And this is an enormous opportunity for a Democrat or a Republican, uh, that figures out that the first... The, the first person that really goes into a populist movement around regulating AI is gonna f- is gonna have the political equivalent of beachfront property here. This is the next big populist movement.
- KSKara Swisher
Yep. I agree with you. I think that's absolutely true. I think you're 100% true. Anyway, uh, it's a really interesting, but this, this one did nothing. This one did nothing. It's a big whole lot of nothing, and David Sacks got his way. Congratulations, David. There were others much more concerned in that administration, and as well they should be. All right, Scott, one more quick break. We'll be back for predictions.
- 38:51 – 43:51
Predictions
- KSKara Swisher
Okay, let's hear a prediction. I, I'm gonna make a very quick one. I just wanna say Missouri is reducing state funding for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, an early childhood reading program that mails free books to children. My children get them. They're wonderful. Um, and Dolly went on to complain about this online very, in a very friendly way. But this is a great program, and so reducing funding for kids getting books is the most idiotic thing I've ever seen, and I predict Dolly Parton will prevail here, and the money will get to this group. Uh, your thoughts, Scott?
- SGScott Galloway
I was watching Bill Maher, and they asked, um, Neil deGrasse Tyson, "If aliens landed, who would you wanna speak to that person?"
- KSKara Swisher
Dolly Parton.
- SGScott Galloway
Or, "Who, who would be best selected to, to, to speak to aliens?" And he said a great mathematician, which makes a lot of sense 'cause he said any alien that gets to Earth would understand math, and that would be our common bridge in terms of, uh, vocabulary, which made a lot of sense to me. But I, I immediately thought, no joke-
- KSKara Swisher
Dolly Parton
- SGScott Galloway
... send Dolly Parton. [laughs]
- KSKara Swisher
Send Dolly fucking Parton.
- SGScott Galloway
She's super likable on a lot of levels, kind of represents-
- KSKara Swisher
Smart
- SGScott Galloway
... represents Earth pretty well.
- KSKara Swisher
The best of us.
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, the, the, the first thought-
- KSKara Swisher
The best of us
- SGScott Galloway
... that went into my mind is if aliens show up and we need a spokesperson, send Dolly Parton.
- KSKara Swisher
Dolly Parton. That's... I agree.
- SGScott Galloway
She can sing. She's likable.
- KSKara Swisher
She's smart.
- SGScott Galloway
Smart, charitable.
- KSKara Swisher
Tells a good story. Boobs.
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, and I won't get into other attributes that kind of represent America, but-
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, she talks about them. You can say boobs with her. She talks about her boobs
- SGScott Galloway
... anyways, uh, but I thought, yeah, Dolly Parton.
- KSKara Swisher
Dolly.
- SGScott Galloway
That's who should represent us when the aliens land.
- KSKara Swisher
Well, give her her book money, you fuckers in Missouri. Anyway, go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
So my pr- my prediction is, is more boring. I think you're about to see the mother of all capital front-running. What do I mean by that?
- KSKara Swisher
Oh?
- SGScott Galloway
As everyone obsesses over the $4 trillion valuation of OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic, you're about to see... Alphabet's already announced it. The next will be Amazon. Then it might be Nvidia. Then it might be Apple. They're gonna front-run all these guys. They're gonna cut the line and say, "You wanna give cheap c- capital to companies in AI? Our company is lower risk, not as much upside, but much lower risk."
- KSKara Swisher
Google just did it. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Alphabet just announced an $80 billion offering. They're like, if there's a, if there's, if there's a quarter of a trillion dollars out there of dumb money or cheap money looking to get into AI, they're cutting the line, and they're gonna suck the oxygen or some of the oxygen-
Episode duration: 43:52
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