Kara Swisher · 1:07:02
Feeling. What is your plans for election night? There's all kinds of different ways people are getting their news, but what are you what are you all doing? And is it a a... You know, again, as Scott said, the money is tight at the... At your organization. Although, you've got a better new owner than others, let me say. I happen to know him. So, I mean, it's a low bar, but that's the facts. What... How are you preparing to cover it? And I assume you're assuming it's gonna be a week long thing.
Guest · 1:07:27
We we do assume that. And, you know, in terms of allocation of resources, you still gotta have reporters in the field. So we are doing that. We're gonna have people in all the battlegrounds, the reporters. I'll be up in New York at our election studio that has been built out with all sorts of new technology to help us explain things more. I think we put a lot of deliberate thought into explaining to people. For example, in a super tight race, stop paying attention to popular vote. Let's remind people the path to 270 electoral votes. Right? Be very deliberate in reminding people of the benchmarks they need to watch in the battlegrounds in particular, the the seven states we're watching. So we'll be doing that. I'm digging into... Because I'm a bit of a policy nerd, into some of the things that are on... At play, like the 10 states where reproductive health care initiatives are on the ballot, the degree to which that'll impact voter turnout or not, Digging into the economy in particular, I mean, it's amazing that, you know, I was out in Erie, Pennsylvania last weekend, you look at Western Pennsylvania and the perception of the economy is very different than what the economic data would tell you on a national scale. So understanding regionally what's impacting how people feel about the country we're in right now is something I've been putting thought into. And, of course, national security. The world is on fire. So connecting those dots is something I'm gonna be trying to do on election night with Nora O'Donnell and Maurice Dubois and John Dickerson and our whole team.
Kara Swisher · 1:08:59
Right. Got a great team. And we're glad you're there, Margaret. We really are. You can catch Margaret every Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation, and she'll, of course, be of the CBS, as she noted, election night coverage. We look forward to watching.
Guest · 1:09:11
Thank you for having me. I love listening to the podcast.
Scott Galloway · 1:09:13
Thanks, Margaret.
Kara Swisher · 1:09:14
Alright, Scott. Isn't she the best? I love Margaret Perkins.
Scott Galloway · 1:09:16
She is.
Kara Swisher · 1:09:17
She really is a pro.
Scott Galloway · 1:09:18
Total pro.
Kara Swisher · 1:09:19
Pro is how I think of her. Absolutely. She just makes... Connects dots, which is why I like her. Not not all these people do. Alright, Scott. One more quick break. We'll be back for predictions.
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— Predictions segment begins —
Kara Swisher · 1:11:37
Okay, Scott. Let's hear a prediction from you.
Scott Galloway · 1:11:41
Well, I don't know. Prediction, aspiration, wish. I I do think that, I think vice president Harris is gonna win the election. I think there's a few things that will carry her across the finish line. One, when I look at the attributes of... Must be sexist girls.
Kara Swisher · 1:12:00
Mhmm.
Scott Galloway · 1:12:00
They're more organized. Mhmm. They are a little bit more meticulous. And I think when it comes to election day, I think a lot of young women are going to find a way to schedule time and get to the booth. And a lot of young men, just bottom line, as someone who's raising young men, I affectionately call them dopes. They... Their prefrontal cortex does not catch up until the age of 25.
Kara Swisher · 1:12:28
Yeah. They're not voting. Right? Because they're too young. That would be
Scott Galloway · 1:12:30
Well, yeah. One seventeen, I asked him I asked him, who would you vote for? And he goes, well, I'd vote for Harris because you're voting for it. And I'm like, I hate and love that answer.
Guest · 1:12:38
I agree.
Scott Galloway · 1:12:39
Anyways... But my point is I think that you're gonna see more... I think women are motivated. Quite frankly, they're more organized. They're more meticulous. And I think... I don't wanna say they take their civic response. They're just more organized. It's like Yeah. Girls do better in school. I think do... Girls or young women are gonna do better at showing up on on
Kara Swisher · 1:12:58
I would agree.
Scott Galloway · 1:12:59
I bet more of them have already, and I don't have the data here too. I'd like to think that young men are getting the message around a need to protect, or I'd like to think that that's a a theme that's resonating here, that they do see that there is a a certain level of demonization and attack for special interest groups, and I... I'd like to think they're stepping up. And three, I I... And, again, I don't... This might be confirmation bias. I'm I'm just too emotional here. But I think the self inflicted, unforced error around Puerto Rico Mhmm. With four to 500,000 Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania could be very, very
Kara Swisher · 1:13:38
Problematic. Could
Scott Galloway · 1:13:40
be a big issue. And Yeah.
Kara Swisher · 1:13:41
And it's so close to the election. It really is
Scott Galloway · 1:13:43
still too close. And, again, my gut might be overridden by my emotions here, but my gut is is that she's gonna pull this out. That's my prediction.
Kara Swisher · 1:13:52
Let me just read something. I'm gonna go pile onto a thing. By the way, everyone should read Scott's endorsement of Kamala Harris. It's essentially, if you wanna have sex, vote for... If you wanna be an incel, vote for Donald Trump. I think I pretty much boiled that down. Right? Is that correct? It's a very funny
Scott Galloway · 1:14:06
Lost more, and I knew this was gonna happen, lost more subscribers than I've ever lost in a single day.
Kara Swisher · 1:14:10
Oh, well, I I think it's very funny and fun to read. I love it. Worth it.
Scott Galloway · 1:14:14
What's the point of being wealthy and having people who love you if you don't speak your mind?
Kara Swisher · 1:14:17
Yeah. I know, but it also was a really good read. I think it's a great... Someone... Even my... Even Amanda was like, I thought, Scott, what? And then I'm like, oh, good argument, Scott. Like, says... She often goes, Scott, what? And then she's like, I must give it to him. In any case, I'll tell you, I have... Let me read this to you. This Wall Street executives, political gamblers, and cryptocurrency traders are piling on their bets that former president Donald Trump is returning to the White House, but the stock market may be telling a different story. US stocks have been on a tear with the bellwether of S and P five hundred index climbing more than 10% since August. While the stock market is not necessarily representative of the broader economy, the S and P one hundred's performance in a run up to election has historically been a strong indicator of whether the incumbent party's candidate will retain control of the White House, correctly forecasting all but four presidential races over the last ninety six years. So interesting. So they they looks... That's that's the the actual stock market, which is very hard to manipulate, is saying, and that's the one I would test. I have one quick prediction. I went and saw... I'm interviewing the director of Wicked soon, John Chu, who I love. I went to see Wicked yesterday, and Amanda came with me.
— Predictions segment ends —
Scott Galloway · 1:15:21
The movie Wicked?
Kara Swisher · 1:15:22
The movie Wicked. It is
Scott Galloway · 1:15:23
Good for you.
Kara Swisher · 1:15:24
Fucking spectacular. It's gonna win every Oscar. I gotta tell you, one of the best.
Scott Galloway · 1:15:29
Who's in it?
Kara Swisher · 1:15:30
Ariana Grande and, Cynthia Erivo are the main characters. I have to tell you, both of them are... There's... They are spec... It's like Barbie times two. I don't know what it is, but it's so... It has so much weight. Feels very Harry Potter in a way. All the other characters are astonishing also around them. Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang is in it. There's all these astonishing... Jeff Goldblum. It's an amazing movie, and it's substantive. It is beautiful. The costumes, the special effects, and at the heart of female... Speaking of females, bringing it to female friendship, these two, Ariana Grande blew me the frig away. Arivo is the anchor of this movie, but they are so electric together as a relationship. It's gonna win all the Oscars. That's my prediction. Huge hit coming for Universal, I have to say. I was... I did not expect it. I thought it would be good because it's a good story, but it is something really fantastic I recommend. And it's gonna be like a Taylor Swift concert for girls, and I think a lot of boys will go because it's got a Harry Potter vibe to it too. Anyway, that's our show. I wanna mention several people reached out following our conversation last week about a mother suing character AI over her teenage son's death. A few of you pointed out a part of the story that was perhaps even more troubling. Let's listen.
Speaker · 1:16:49
While there was an excellent critique on character AI, you failed to mention the role of the gun.
Speaker · 1:16:54
The gun thing's a bit beyond us here outside The US, and for it to not even be part of the story really does send chills.
Speaker · 1:17:01
Kevin Rouss' full story detailed how the parents knew prior to his death that their son was depressed, And yet, his stepdad left a gun unlocked in a drawer in the home.
Speaker · 1:17:11
Wasn't the stepfather a contributing factor in this tragedy for not properly securing the weapon in the first place?
Speaker · 1:17:17
The story could have been about a tragic suicide attempt connected to character AI. But instead, he is dead. Parents can't monitor their kids' online activity twenty four seven, but they can and they must keep guns out of their children's reach at all times.
Kara Swisher · 1:17:32
Those clips were from Steve Sachs, Kate Darrow, and Sierra Fox. And we really appreciate it. It was a very good point to make in in a terrible, terrible story, not just about AI, but about guns in this country. Thanks to everyone who called in. We want to always hear from you, and you're always incredibly thoughtful, most of you. So send us your questions about business tech or whatever's on your mind. Go to nymag.com/pivot
Scott Galloway · 1:17:57
to me. Way, most is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
Kara Swisher · 1:18:00
Just Well, those are just letters to you, Scott. And I... I'm glad you did that endorsement, Scott. Fuck people if they... You know what? It was good. Go read it, everybody.
Scott Galloway · 1:18:07
And by the way, everyone... I just wanna say everyone who unsubscribed, full refund coming your way.
Kara Swisher · 1:18:12
Yeah. That's And I endorse Scott Galloway. I have nothing to sell you. There you go. You you can't unsubscribe. You don't have listen
Guest · 1:18:18
to this Friday.
Scott Galloway · 1:18:19
I don't wanna be right.
Kara Swisher · 1:18:19
Also, to nymag.com/pivot to submit a question for the show, or call 85551 And don't forget to send us your photos of you dressed up as me or Scott on threads. One last note elsewhere in the Kara and Scott universe. Scott, you talked with your favorite geopolitical expert, Ian Bremmer, on Professor G this week. Really smart guy. Let's hear a quick clip.
Speaker · 1:18:40
Well, I'm talking in part about the relationship between China and The United States. That, I mean, we are heading towards confrontation, but both countries are trying to avoid sudden crises and ensure through a lot of high level communication that the relationship doesn't deteriorate any faster than it needs to and any more broadly than it needs to. The Americans are doing that, I think, in part because we've got our hands full with a couple of different wars and an election cycle. The Chinese are doing that because their economy is performing worse than I've ever seen it, certainly since the early nineties, maybe since the seventies. I was just in Beijing a couple of weeks ago. I spent the week there. And, every provincial government is bankrupt.
Kara Swisher · 1:19:35
That's very thoughtful from his mouth to everybody's ears. We cannot get in a war with China, any kind of war.
Scott Galloway · 1:19:41
Nice guy too, more importantly.
Kara Swisher · 1:19:42
He's a
Scott Galloway · 1:19:42
good guy to have drinks with. Nice man.
Kara Swisher · 1:19:44
Yeah. Great. It was a great show. It was really good. And I urge everyone to go listen to it because Ian's smart.
Scott Galloway · 1:19:50
You're stressed and generous today. It's a unique cocktail I'm not used to. You are very high strung and also generous.
Kara Swisher · 1:19:55
I know. What do you want? I... Why would I be generous? If it was shitty, I would say it was shitty, but it's not shitty. Don't be shitty, Scott. That's all. Your your take on Bezos is wrong.
Scott Galloway · 1:20:03
That's good advice.
Kara Swisher · 1:20:04
On that essay was so badly written, and I'm gonna go through it line by line with you. Okay. Just copy editing. Just copy editing. I'm just
Scott Galloway · 1:20:11
That sounds like torture.
Kara Swisher · 1:20:12
Yeah. I know. I know. My kids hate it when I do that. Alright, Scott. That's the show. We'll be back on Tuesday with more pivot. Please read us out.
Scott Galloway · 1:20:19
Today's show was produced by Lara Nayman, Zoe Marcus, and Taylor Griffin. Ernie Nertaut engineered this episode. Thanks also to Drew Burrows, Mia Savario, and Dan Shulan. Nishat Kurwa is Vox Media's executive producer of audio. Make sure you subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening to Pivot for New York Magazine and Vox Media. You can subscribe to the magazine at nymag.com/pod. We'll be back next week for another breakdown of all things tech and business. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and take stock of the blessings of the best decision they've ever made, and that is to live and vote in America.
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