Pivot · Oct 2, 2026

AI’s Rocky Road to Wall Street, Hegseth’s Macho Military, and Trump’s AI Safety Theater

Automatic transcript of the end of the episode, from 49:39. Speakers are labeled by software and may contain errors. Highlighted passages are Scott’s predictions.

Kara Swisher · 49:39 He definitely is. It's really... One of the last interesting things about it is, of course, he... They've been trying to make that Warner the second Barbie movie, and there's all these issues around money, essentially, among the people involved in it. And it'll be interesting if he can... You know? And I called him about this relatively recently. And, you know, he... It wasn't in his hands. Like, he couldn't do anything about it, because it was a deal that Warner had to make. But now he's in a position. You might see a second Barbie movie, because now he's Scott Galloway · 50:05 Oh, that's second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. Kara Swisher · 50:07 Right. I love Barbie. Barbie was a great movie. Do not insult Barbie movie. Scott Galloway · 50:11 Oh god. Kara Swisher · 50:11 Don't insult patient zero or Barbie movie to me. Scott Galloway · 50:14 See this. I just hope they have Taylor Swift music in the next one. The... Like, the Kara Swisher · 50:19 They invite you. Scott Galloway · 50:20 He's got two he's got two objectives here. And and that's right. The fir... Number two is to figure out a way to develop a really strong pipeline and operational leverage with a bunch of people constantly turning the amazing... The IP they have. Like, high class TV or whatever you wanna call it, aspirational TV, no. He's gonna say, look at all of our IP and figure out a way to make more billion dollars movies. But the number one objective for this guy can come down to one word, math. Kara Swisher · 50:54 Math. Yeah. Yeah. And he he knows how to do it. He does. I I like him. I do like him. Anyway, before we go, speaking of someone I really like, let's check out a great moment from one of our faves, senator Amy Klobuchar. During a senate hearing, Republican senator Eric Schmidt accused former special counsel Jack Smith of perjury, claiming he had evidence Smith secretly attended an Atlanta Hawks game. Let's listen to a clip. Speaker · 51:18 We have confirmed that, in fact, you were right, mister Smith. Iowa, the Iowa hawkeyes, played Maryland on 02/03/2024. The final score was 93 to 85. Iowa won, and Caitlin Clark scored over... Scored 30 points. Speaker · 51:39 So it must have been a pretty good game. The game was, in fact, in Maryland, mister Smith. And I would just say for a US senator to have false information and imply based on a confusion about the name of a team, which I knew knowing my Midwestern sports, and imply that you were in another city, that you were somehow involved that day in what was happening in Georgia, and then call you a dirtbag is something that deserves an apology. Thank you, mister Smith. Kara Swisher · 52:08 I love that. That was really good. Of course, Schmidt is just doubling down and saying, oh, I can't believe he likes women's basketball. And, of course, in the in the MAGA universe, he looks like he's taking a victory when essentially he and his team are incompetent, like, completely incompetent. By the way, he's a possible vice presidential candidate for JD Vance. He's very close to the JD Vance, but he seems like a moron. Your thoughts on this besides Amy Klobuchar as a badass? Scott Galloway · 52:33 Well, I respect the senator for taking his shot. He was just 750 miles off. You know? And I I I love this. All I have to say to the senator is senator Schmidt,. And and and, basically, MAGA has so much performative bullshit masculinity. They've decided that their midterm strategy is to accuse a prosecutor of liking women's sports. Kara Swisher · 52:59 What... They are so... Let me just tell you. I think they have very small penises. They have to if they talk so much of trashing men. They're probably some of the most powerful women in Washington, really. Scott Galloway · 53:10 I don't know if you know that. Amy and I, I give her advice as two of the most powerful women in Washington. She and I are very close. Kara Swisher · 53:16 Is she on the list? Scott Galloway · 53:18 You know what about. Kara Swisher · 53:19 She's gotta be. Scott Galloway · 53:20 Gotta Gotta Kara Swisher · 53:20 be. Senator Clovis president. Gangster. She's gonna be governor. We're gonna know another governor. Scott Galloway · 53:24 Actually, people always ask me who I would like to see as president. She's in the top two or three for me. Kara Swisher · 53:29 Yeah. She'd be good. Look. Scott Galloway · 53:31 He's I I just... By the way, you'll you'll love this. I just interviewed and spent a bunch of time walking and... Moroccan and talking with Mara Lurie yesterday two days ago in San Francisco. Kara Swisher · 53:42 I feel like I was part of bringing that together. Scott Galloway · 53:45 You did. You did. You said, look. You need to stop ignoring the most powerful woman in Washington, Nova Scott. I love that. I'm so going to that dinner. Even if I have to go... Even if I have to be a shirtless server, I I don't mind. Whatever it is, I'm going. Kara Swisher · 54:01 I'm gonna make it happen. Scott Galloway · 54:04 But I couldn't help it. I put out a teaser picture of me and him, and I said, me and Dan Lurie at a Kansas Jayhawks game. Rock chalk. Kara Swisher · 54:13 Did you like Daniel? He's a good guy. Scott Galloway · 54:15 He's impossible not to like. Kara Swisher · 54:16 He's impossible. Scott Galloway · 54:17 Also, by the way, walking down the Embarcadero, it was one of those chamber of commerce beautiful days. Kara Swisher · 54:21 Beautiful days. Scott Galloway · 54:22 I was at the ramp annual meeting with Kara Swisher · 54:25 Oh, that's. You went to the ramp? Scott Galloway · 54:27 I went to the ramp. No. Kara Swisher · 54:28 I love the ramp. Scott Galloway · 54:29 The ramp... No. Ramp company. Kara Swisher · 54:31 Oh, I thought you Scott Galloway · 54:31 said because you company. I'm not talking about something nice or a cultural event. I'm talking It's about a it's talking about a speaking fee. Kara Swisher · 54:38 It's kind of a janky bar down by the water that everybody loves. Please go there, people of San Francisco. It's super fun. Scott Galloway · 54:44 This is a venture backed company that does expense control through AI delivered software. Kara Swisher · 54:49 Janky bar. That's really fun. Scott Galloway · 54:50 But we're walking over to the Embarcadero. No less than a dozen people stopped and shook his hand and said, thank you for the good work you're doing. He's very likable. Yes. It's a good day. We had a long conversation. Anyways, I'm gonna post it later today on my Instagram page. Kara Swisher · 55:08 Can't wait as the most powerful woman in Washington. Alright. One more quick break. We'll be back for predictions. Support for this show comes from granola. 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That's granola.ai/pivot to get your time back. Go to granola.ai/pivot and try it on your next call. [Ad break] Speaker · 56:23 It makes me feel as if I have my hand on the electric line. [Ad break] Speaker · 56:30 It's like a magical spell. [Ad break] Kara Swisher · 56:34 The part of the brain that you'd use to plan movement is also active when you're listening to music with a beat. [Ad break] Kara Swisher · 56:56 Positive teeth. [Ad break] Kara Swisher · 57:10 The [Ad break] Kara Swisher · 57:30 Let's enjoy it while we can. [Ad break] Kara Swisher · 57:42 So on [Ad break] — Predictions segment begins — Kara Swisher · 57:56 What we're after. Okay. Scott, let's hear a prediction now. We have to mention, as you just did, the biometric ringmaker Aura has postponed its IPO to uncertainty in the market, and you did explain what happened there. I mean, what's happening with the market. But would you like to add to that prediction or have a totally different one? Scott Galloway · 58:17 Well, there's just no getting around it. I got it wrong. It not... I I... My prediction was it was gonna be really well received in the market, and it not only wasn't well received in the market, they decided assessing the market that they were gonna pull it. And I was shocked. I did not see that coming. And I... The reporting I've seen, although I'm wondering if there's a story behind the story here Kara Swisher · 58:38 Yeah. You always find. Scott Galloway · 58:38 Is that the largest shareholder decided, I think, or the largest outside shareholder wanted to sell her entire stake on the day of the IPO, which scared the markets. Typically, when you pull the IPO, it's a fight between the bankers say, no. This is this is the number we need to go out at, and management's, know, no. We need to go out at a higher number. And and the underwriters are like, no. We can't we can't sell the book on that. Last Friday, Bloomberg reported that the book was four x oversubscribed. In really strong IPOs, that sounds like a lot. You see eight to 12 in hot IPOs. I still think there's more news here to come out on why they decided to why they decided to pull because the numbers on the company were really strong. Look. I guess my prediction, it's sort of broad, but I think that... I do think that Apple in the home... You know, Apple is reportedly launching a six inch home hub October 13 with personalized information. It can run... It it has door locks, thermostats, FaceTime, media, etcetera. Google and Apple got... Google and Amazon got there first, but I think Apple is about to employ or deploy their strategy for shareholder value, which I refer to as second mouse. And that is in your home, and you reference this a lot. I think trust is a pretty big deal. And I do think Apple has a lot of trust. Also, the design and feel and self expressive benefit of the Apple brand, I think, fits really well in a home. It just feels to me like a lot of first apartments are gonna get gifts of this as this thing from parents and people. They don't... Apple doesn't need the device to be huge, a huge stand alone business. It just makes the iPhone more valuable and the economics work differently. Amazon wanted an Alexa in your house so it can sell you more shit. Google wants your house because it wants more data. Apple wants your house because it wants you to never leave Apple, and that's their superpower. Kara Swisher · 1:00:40 That's a better thing. No. I I still... I... I'd even be nervous about Apple. I have to say, I I I do not have Alexas. I have them. I don't have the Google dot, whatever they made. I have it in a box. They're all in a box, every one of them, including my Oura Ring, by the way. But that's just me. Scott Galloway · 1:00:55 Yeah. But just the notion of second mouse. They're rarely first to a market, but Apple has this what must be a maddening feature for everyone else, and that it's the first to make everybody else's version feel like a prototype. Kara Swisher · 1:01:06 Well, except Siri has been such a fucking disaster. I hate Siri. Scott Galloway · 1:01:10 I agree. Kara Swisher · 1:01:10 I just if they made a great Siri, I would use that. I wouldn't use any of the others as an agent. Even if it was an extra smart AI powered one, I would absolutely use an Apple version over everybody hands down. Hands down. Scott Galloway · 1:01:22 I have a series of go to lines when I go on the board a big company, and I pretend that I thought about it on the spot, but I'm, like, waiting to say it. And that is You have lot those. I do. I just think about it. I don't hear anything anyone's saying like, oh, they're gonna love this. I'm gonna look so smart. Oh, I'm gonna look so funny. When can I say it? Should I say now? Kara Swisher · 1:01:39 I've seen Should Scott Galloway · 1:01:39 I say it now? Kara Swisher · 1:01:40 I've seen it. Scott Galloway · 1:01:41 Okay. Here it is. Boom. Launch the missile. And then, yes, that's right. Three hundred and first most powerful woman in DC. Here I am. Kara Swisher · 1:01:50 And you're a beardo and a weirdo. Scott Galloway · 1:01:51 Anyways, but one of those things I've been dying to say about this whole Apple thing or what I say when I come into a company that's a big company is that big companies, they don't they don't have a talent problem. They have a metabolism problem, and that is big organizations develop antibodies against risk. And I actually think him cutting layers because Yeah. Innovation is is inversely correlated with the number of people who can say no is a really good signal. It's not fun. It's really interesting. Very rarely do new CEOs come in in a company like Apple that's creating more cash flow than any company in history with exception of NVIDIA and start cutting. I actually think that's a very good sign for shareholders. — Predictions segment ends — Kara Swisher · 1:02:33 Good. Well, that's a good thing too. Alright. We wanna hear from you. Go to nymag.com/pivot to submit a question for the show or call 85551 And a quick programming note before we go, we're making it easier for you to get more of Cara and Scott in our lives. Check out this feed on Sundays for extra content from the extended Cara and Scott universe. This Sunday, you can hear Scott's conversation with historian Timothy Snyder about his recent trip to Ukraine. Okay. That's the show. Thanks for listening to Pivot, and be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel. And a reminder, we're hitting the road. Get your tickets for our tour. Scott Galloway · 1:03:05 We're on the road. The most powerful women tour. Still going to that dinner. So good. Still going to that dinner. Kara Swisher · 1:03:13 I'm gonna I'm gonna text Dan Danavash and make her make Scott Galloway · 1:03:16 you gonna stand up and say... I'm just gonna, like, embarrass the shit out of anyone. I'm gonna be like, Dana, mahjong, Thursday night. Dana. Kara Swisher · 1:03:28 Oh, poor I feel so... I'm gonna warn her today. Scott Galloway · 1:03:32 Margaret, don't be embarrassed by our tattoo. We we we got tattoos together. She and I. We got tattoos. I'm just gonna roam around. Kara Swisher · 1:03:39 Say it's wine o'clock. Say it's wine o'clock. Scott Galloway · 1:03:41 It's wine o'clock somewhere. It's and I'm just gonna scream out. When anyone makes a bold statement, I'm gonna scream out, is that the menopause speaking? Kara Swisher · 1:03:52 Oh, no. Anyway, we'll be back next week. Scott Galloway · 1:03:57 Today's show is produced by Lara Naaman, Zoe Marcus, Taylor Griffin, and Todd Wiseman, some of the people that have have helped me ascend to this powerful accolade. Erin Endertodd engineered this episode. Thanks also to Jibreus, Mia Savaria, and Dan Shalon. Nishat Kurwa is Vox Media's executive producer of podcast. Someday to be on the same list as the dog. Make sure to follow Pivot on your favorite podcast platform. Thanks for listening to Pivot from Vox Media. We'll be back next week for another breakdown of all things tech and business. Sonya. Sonya, meet me at the bar.