Kara Swisher · 58:12
On The Daily Show in his Monday appearance. It was it was it was along these lines. The only place I'm gonna draw the line is the the attacks on trans people right now are getting really ugly, and it's not funny. And there's no... Like, the Nancy Mace... And let me tell you, Nancy Mace, you're a heinous heinous
Scott Galloway · 58:28
person. Really vile.
Kara Swisher · 58:29
It's vile. I get... You can have a debate about bathrooms
Scott Galloway · 58:31
and stuff. That's targeted one person?
Kara Swisher · 58:34
One person. And this woman, can I just tell you, Sarah McBride is handling herself with such class and grace? She goes, I'm here to work for the constituents of my of my district in Delaware, and I'm... About prices and the economy and helping them have a better life. Where I go to the bathroom doesn't matter. She doesn't
Scott Galloway · 58:52
100%.
Kara Swisher · 58:53
She had so much class, and Yancey Mace, honestly, what is wrong with you? You are you are a... An attention... And and by the way, her staff talks about this. She wanted apparently to get punched in the face during, the insurrection so she could get attention. You are an attention seeking, heinous, cruel person.
Scott Galloway · 59:12
And it's working. Look what we're talking about.
Kara Swisher · 59:14
I get it. I I know we're talking about her, but not in a good way. And Sarah McBride, good for you for rising above it, but that's the one place where it's gotten... It's turned in a very ugly direction, and it's not funny. But I agree with you. I I would recommend watching Jon Stewart to have the same exact idea of, like, let's start let's start playing the loophole game like they do and the rule breaking, and you shouldn't behave like, you know, the the class monitor so much. And maybe we can we can make some gains.
Scott Galloway · 59:42
I was at a urinal yesterday, and this guy came up to the urinal next to me and said... He said... Looked over, and he said, circumcised? I'm like, nope. That's just the wear and tear.
Kara Swisher · 59:53
I don't even understand that. I don't I don't know... Understand why it's funny. I don't understand it.
Scott Galloway · 59:58
So just so you know, anytime if someone asks if you know a guy, do the following. Go, wait. Five ten dark hair circumcised? That... That's a great conversation
Kara Swisher · 1:00:08
starter. Feel like I'm not gonna do that.
Scott Galloway · 1:00:10
Two, my favorite is that Republican senator who was was soliciting blowjobs in the men's room at Minneapolis Airport. Yeah. And he was a total homophobe in the senate.
Kara Swisher · 1:00:21
Of course.
Scott Galloway · 1:00:21
Wide stance. I'm starting a boys band called... And he just said, I just have a wide stance.
Kara Swisher · 1:00:26
Wide stance. Wide stance.
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Scott Galloway · 1:00:27
a boy band called
Kara Swisher · 1:00:28
wide stance. Anyone who is so anti gay, you know what's happening. Let me just give you that piece of information.
Scott Galloway · 1:00:33
I I think there's a lot of truth to that.
Kara Swisher · 1:00:36
Oh my god. It's
Scott Galloway · 1:00:36
like A lot of truth to that.
Kara Swisher · 1:00:38
It's like calm the fuck down. What do you care? I was at a... This is my last story. I was at dinner party with all these VCs a couple years ago, and this guy, and he's a well known venture capitalist, starts going. He goes he was... He goes... He made... First, he made the typical lesbian jokes. There was a law about gay, marriage, and he said, I I don't like I don't like gay sex. I like a lesbian sex. Did that one, which is like, oh, good god. And I knew it was coming next, and he goes, but I don't like I don't like this gay sex thing. And so the room didn't know what to do, and I said, you know what? If you don't like gay sex, you have to stop having it. And he goes, what? And I said, well, if you don't like gay sex, you just said you don't like it. Don't have it. I don't like this zucchini, and I've put it over to the side of the plate here because I don't like it, and I'm not gonna eat it. And he's like, I'm not having gay sex. I said, why did you say you don't like it? Because you just said you don't like it. Are you lying about having gay sex? That's weird. It was the most wonderful moment of my life, I have to say. This guy doesn't like me anymore.
Scott Galloway · 1:01:34
Well, you know how many LGBTQ supporters, it takes to change a light bulb?
Kara Swisher · 1:01:38
Oh, no.
Scott Galloway · 1:01:40
The light bulb is fine, Kara, the way it is. It's society that needs to change the way it looks at the light bulb.
Kara Swisher · 1:01:46
You know what? We're not all woke, by the way. We contain multitudes. We have plenty of conservatives and plenty of... I'm just
Scott Galloway · 1:01:52
saying that, though. I don't understand what you're
Kara Swisher · 1:01:54
I'm just saying. There's plenty of different gates of all kinds now. Same thing with everybody. Anyway, I agree. Redundant politics can get a little tiresome, but we're not all the same in any group. Anyway Agreed. If you've got a question of your own that you'd like answered, send it our way. Go to nymag.com/pivot to submit a question for the show, or call 85551 By the way, pivot is now on Blue Sky because everybody else is, and we seek... We're a thirsty group of people. So send us a message there. We're gonna be on all the platforms. We're not really engaged on Twitter that much because it's, again, a Nazi porn bar, and it doesn't really help us. That's really the point. Alright, Scott. One more quick break. We'll be back for predictions. I get so many headaches every month. It could be chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more.
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Kara Swisher · 1:03:30
Why wait? Ask your doctor. Visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 4 to learn more.
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— Predictions segment begins —
Kara Swisher · 1:04:44
Okay, Scott. We're gonna do a prediction. I'm gonna give one very quickly. Mhmm. I predict the Christmas rom com hot frosty, which is already number one movie on Netflix, will continue to dominate this weekend. The movie stars Lacey Chabert as a widow who falls in love with a snowman she brought to life who's really hot. He's hot frosty. It's so sick. It is so sick for those who've seen frosty the snowman thing to think about a fuckable frosty. But that's what it's about. It's about a fuckable frosty, and she falls in love with with him. And he has a really nice set of abs. I think you'll appreciate them, Scott. So that's my prediction.
Scott Galloway · 1:05:20
What does your trainer think?
Kara Swisher · 1:05:21
He's gonna beat you up. That's what's gonna happen. Anyway, let's let's hear your prediction now.
Scott Galloway · 1:05:29
I think that... So with the antitrust scrutiny probably being dialed down and the election over, I think private equity is getting its jets kind of fired up again, and we're gonna see in 2025 a lot of m and a and take private activity. There's like a $250,000,000,000 in dry powder on the line, or the private equity has a master raise and needs to deploy. And I think a decent target, if you will, right now is now Target. Walmart reported great earnings, Target terrible earnings. Walmart's now trading at, I think, 33 or 34 times earnings, and Target is trading at 12. It's not doing really well.
Kara Swisher · 1:06:06
No, I had a bad quarter.
Scott Galloway · 1:06:08
60% of Walmart's US sales were in grocery, and it was less than 25% for Target. And that kind of essential business is more, if you will, more consistent. Target's business model relies on consumers who are willing to spend on non essentials, such as clothing and beauty, and it's lost a little bit of that differentiation and panache. Even if Target could match or beat Walmart's prices, experts believe that Target would still be perceived as more expensive. And generally what happens in these kinds of business, everyone is compensated or focused on share. And I think Target is an example of a business that needs to shrink to become much more profitable. And that's just so counter to the DNA of every manager there. But I think Target is now at a price level and would benefit from making difficult, hard, cost cutting changes outside of the public eye. This strikes me that there's probably quite a few PE folks sharpening their pencils and looking at Target because it still has a great brand. It still has, I think, really outstanding, real estate. I love the Super Target in Boca Raton. I think it's a wonderful experience.
Kara Swisher · 1:07:11
So I think Cornell is the CEO. I know him pretty well.
Scott Galloway · 1:07:14
Really?
Kara Swisher · 1:07:15
Yeah. He's he's had a tough... This is... The the the stock fell, what, 21%. Mean
Scott Galloway · 1:07:20
Yeah. Yeah. Well, they own... They... Target operates 1,900 stores and generate sales of a 107,000,000,000. Mhmm. And their their current debt is 19,000,000,000 on a market cap of 56. So it's got about a $75,000,000,000. I I think you're gonna see some of the biggest LBOs in And I think Target is probably getting eyed right now. Because this is a company that probably at 1,500 stores versus 1,900, get rid of the 400 least profitable, bring in a new... You know, freshen up the merchandise, if you will. I think this is I think this is the kind of deal Yeah. That PE loves. And these guys have so much capital they've got to put to work. This would be a club deal. But it's a great brand. It's ubiquitous.
Kara Swisher · 1:08:05
Yeah. It's You hope it doesn't go the way of... I'm trying to think of another... Because it was not trendy.
Scott Galloway · 1:08:10
Yeah. Casey pennies?
Kara Swisher · 1:08:11
Yeah. It was not trendy, and then it got really trendy. Target got really kind of fun to shop at, and now it's really struggling. The issue is inflationary shoppers, and the CEO said that that that shoppers are waiting... Are stretched and waiting till the last minute to buy items. So I think it's gotten a little a little not fresh, I would say.
Scott Galloway · 1:08:30
Well, exactly. But this would be... So what I'm predicting, and these deals are hard to pull off, but I believe this would be the biggest LBO in history. TXU, now Energy Future Holdings was 45,000,000,000 in 2007. HCA Healthcare was 33,000,000,000 in 'six. RJR Nabisco was $31,000,000,000 all the way back in 1989. So maybe a better prediction, because it's more likely to happen, is we're going to have the biggest LBO in history in 2025. And I think a decent idea
Kara Swisher · 1:08:56
Interesting.
Scott Galloway · 1:08:57
Two decent ideas we've mentioned over the last three weeks. One is Intel, and one now I'm adding to the list target.
Kara Swisher · 1:09:02
Are you involved? May I ask?
Scott Galloway · 1:09:07
I'm not... I'm choosing my words carefully here.
Kara Swisher · 1:09:10
I
Scott Galloway · 1:09:10
figured. Talk I talk to a lot of PE guys all the time. I'll
Kara Swisher · 1:09:13
say that. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. That's actually a great idea. It's a great idea. An excellent one. But I feel my frost hot frosty prediction was better.
Scott Galloway · 1:09:20
Hasty. Hasty. Hasty.
Kara Swisher · 1:09:23
Hasty. Then what's gonna... What are they gonna do next? They're gonna take a cartoon and make them fuckable. I don't like this. I just don't like this term, but I did watch it, I liked it. Anyway, by the way, watch the diplomat also, second season. Amazing.
— Predictions segment ends —
Scott Galloway · 1:09:36
People love it.
Kara Swisher · 1:09:37
Love it. Fantastic. So smart. It's like a it's like West Wingy kind of, but it's really smart, and the two main stars are fantastic. Elsewhere in the Kara and Scott universe, as you mentioned, you spoke with Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt on the Professor G podcast, by the way, running up the charts, mister podcast. Mhmm. Maybe the Dogecache will catch you, but probably not, and discuss the threats and opportunities of artificial intelligence. Let's listen to what Eric Schmidt is most worried about if we don't get a grip on this technology.
Guest · 1:10:07
Remember that it was the horror of nuclear war that got people to the table, and it still took fifteen years. I don't want us to go through an analogous bad incident involving an evil actor in North Korea, again, I'm just using them as bad examples, or even Russia today, we obviously don't trust. I don't want to run that experiment and have all that harm, and then say, hey, we should have foreseen this.
Kara Swisher · 1:10:32
Oh, Eric is being very careful. Interesting. He's an interesting guy. Very smart. I I covered when he got that job. I I think I broke that story when he got that job at Google many moons ago. He was way out in Utah
Scott Galloway · 1:10:44
working Yeah. He was running Oracle? No. No. He was running
Kara Swisher · 1:10:47
Ugh. God. Blanking. What's it called? Nobel.
Scott Galloway · 1:10:50
Novell. Yeah.
Kara Swisher · 1:10:51
He was at Novell. So Eric was at... Before that, he was at Sun. He was at... Where he got famous, and he went to Novell, and then, of course, got that Google job where he did pretty well. But he's a very thoughtful person. I'm glad you talked to him.
Scott Galloway · 1:11:03
PhD from Berkeley. No?
Kara Swisher · 1:11:04
Yeah. I don't know. He's just really smart, Very smart guy. Great great moment of talk about getting the best job in history. That was when he went to Google, and he kinda cleaned it up. But please listen to Professor G and listen to Scott's, discussion with Eric Schmidt. It's quite good. Alright, Scott. That's the show. We'll be back on Tuesday with more pivot. Why don't you read us out?
Scott Galloway · 1:11:24
Today's show was produced by Lara Nayman, Zoe Marcus, Taylor Griffin, and Christine Driscoll. Her and Eretat 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 from 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 all things tech and business. Have a great rest of the week and weekend care.
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Kara Swisher · 1:13:12
Hi.
