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Speaker · 19:26
Everyone's talking about the prospect of a democratic wave in the midterm elections, but here's something that matters just as much, the battle to control state legislatures.
Speaker · 19:36
That's the most important thing we should be focusing on right now.
Speaker · 19:39
The GOP has a trifecta in 23 states, which means they control the governor's seat plus the state house and the state senate. For Democrats, it's 16 states.
Speaker · 19:50
Meaning that the opportunity to pass the policies that the majority of our state supports, things like increasing minimum wage, legalizing marijuana, codifying abortion.
Speaker · 20:01
If Democrats flip just a handful of state legislatures, the majority of Americans will now live in the state under full democratic control, which could have big policy implications.
Speaker · 20:13
That's all on the table with the democratic trifecta.
Speaker · 20:15
This week on America Actually, we're in Wisconsin, and we talked to Francesca Hong.
Speaker · 20:20
We have an opportunity through Wisconsin to actually start improving the brand for Democrats.
Speaker · 20:26
Catch us every Saturday on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast.
Kara Swisher · 20:32
We're back, and I'm here with Scott Galloway. Alright. We're gonna do wins and fails now. Scott, what is your win this week?
Scott Galloway · 20:38
So my win is rep Ayanna Pressley, and her tweet responding to the president's comments, attacking her and other congresswomen of color. She she said, and I quote, I encourage the American people and all of us not to take the bait. This is a disruptive distraction from the issues of care, concern, and consequence. And I think she's exactly right. I think that the Democrats, if they're gonna take back the White House, the outrage and the indignance at the president isn't gonna get them to White House. It's gonna be alright. What do we do to solve some of the problems of our own making, of his making? But, alright. Enough already. Yeah. Fine. Clap back. When you say, tell me to go home, that means I go home to Michigan or wherever. Show how stupid it is. And then move on and start focusing... Start playing offense as opposed to defense. And I think she gets it, so my win is representative Presley. Who's your win?
Kara Swisher · 21:30
My win? I gotta I gotta say this week. One thing, this was such a bad week of Twitter and news and everything else. It was just the worst. And then, Monica Lewinsky did a tweet that made me so happy. I couldn't stand it. Someone... Think it was Monica? Adam Grant. You know, the handsome Adam Grant who's
Scott Galloway · 21:44
Yeah. The better version of me. Best in
Kara Swisher · 21:46
you in so many ways. Yeah. He said, what career advice did someone give you that was a mistake? And Monica Lewinsky replied, that working at the White House would look good on my resume. Working at the summer intern at the White House would look good on my resume. And she just left, and she just dropped it like that and moved along. And I thought, I I really love Monica Lewinsky. I think she's a handful stuff, probably the most classy woman in America given all this shit that's been rained down on her. And I just thought it was just fantastic.
Scott Galloway · 22:14
Maybe No.
Kara Swisher · 22:14
That's good stuff. Today.
Scott Galloway · 22:16
That's good stuff. That's a nice win. And your fail?
Kara Swisher · 22:19
My fail? Oh, god. So many fails.
Scott Galloway · 22:21
So many?
Kara Swisher · 22:22
You know, again, Twitter the Twitter and letting this happen go on and on. But probably, you know, how little we've heard from the tech companies with this ongoing weaponization of these platforms. You know? They seem to have been trying to stay out of the way, and I I want them to step up more. They're not going to, and I sit there and wait for them to do so, you know, in that regard. And then on a minor fail, that New Republic piece about Pete Buttigieg, I do see... I think I think the failure wasn't so much the writer because he is what he is. He he... His his book was called Hatchet Job, so you know what you're gonna get from him. But it was a failure on the editors of the New Republic to put it up and then take it down. Like, why did they put it up? Why didn't they edit it? There's all kinds of things going on. So I thought that was the fail for me this week to watch that. And I... And in this day and age when so many things are so twitchy and quick not to understand how that would be done was... I just don't even understand where that editing failure happened.
Scott Galloway · 23:17
I like it. Okay. So my fail... So my fail starts with a question, Kara. I'm an investor in several private companies, and let's say one of them just went crazy and was Google, and overnight, I was a billionaire. So as a 54 year old white heterosexual billionaire, does that mean I'm obligated to run for president or qualified in your view?
Kara Swisher · 23:36
No. Tom Steyer, you're
Scott Galloway · 23:38
not. There you go. So my loss this week is Tom Steyer who's running for president for no other fucking reason than he's in his fifties white and a billionaire. His entire rep is reheated Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren where he blames corporations for co opting the government. No, boss. Corporations are inanimate legal entities. It's rich people as yourself that have probably co opted Washington. Literally, absolutely nothing to add to the debate. But you know what? These guys, if they're they're Commonwealth, if they're interested in the Commonwealth, this is this is literally the full employment act for local TV stations and political consultants who says he's gonna spend a $100,000,000 taking oxygen away from other people who actually know how to govern. He and Howard Schultz should get in a room and say, okay. Tell you what, you're white. You're a billionaire. I know you should run for president. No. You should run for president. No. You should run for president. And then they should blow each other and go home. And they should take that $250,000,000 that they're gonna spend on media, and they should do something that actually helps the world. They should spend it on voter registration. They should take a $250,000,000 and give it to planned parenthood if they're really interested in the advancement of women and people of color. But the notion that literally, like, well, I'm white, and I'm a billionaire. So that's my calling to be president. Alright. It just seems ridiculous. It's like, where where... Who told them this? That's my my field's Tom Steyer.
Kara Swisher · 25:00
I feel that's a good one, and, really, we're gonna... I think he should take the money and do something else with it. I agree with you. And he can do whatever he wants with his money, but you're right. It's just sort of like, why now? I think they feel that maybe there's a point to get in here. Like, this is the point to get in. You know, if you
Scott Galloway · 25:12
If they have something different to say.
Kara Swisher · 25:13
Much better. Right? Bloomberg, you know, you'd be happy.
Scott Galloway · 25:16
Howard Schultz, my sense is he's a great guy. What is different about what he said? What is different? If they had a message, fine. What is different about their message that's not already being said by people who have governed, who actually
Kara Swisher · 25:28
I'm just gonna contrast. If Bloomberg said he was jumping in, how would you feel?
Scott Galloway · 25:32
He's... He spent twelve years running the eleventh largest nation in the world with huge success. He's qualified.
— Predictions segment begins —
Kara Swisher · 25:38
Yeah. Yeah. He's qualified. Alright. Alright. I agree with you. I'm I'm I'm with you on this one. Alright. Predictions. So you made a little one before. You made a tiny little prediction before. But let's... Let me ask you one. One of the things is Lion King from Disney. You love you love yourself some Bob Iger, as you discussed last week or the week before. Prerelease reviews are bad. It looks kinda creepy. It definitely does. But Aladdin live action made $332,000,000 domestically so far, and it had mixed reviews too. What is your prediction, mister media?
Scott Galloway · 26:10
Doesn't matter. Everyone's gonna see it. Anyone with kids is gonna go see anything that says Disney on it. And if you don't see it in the theaters, you're gonna see it at home. And your kids immediately... Just look at the way your kids respond to the graphics and the coloring and the visual identity that connotes Disney or Pixar, it means that you watch it. It could get zero stars or 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. And at some point, they're gonna monetize it because their brand is so consistently stands for outstanding quality, you know, a real genuine concern about the well-being of children in terms of not weaponizing their platform. Have you ever been to Disneyland?
Kara Swisher · 26:43
Yes. I was forced there by Bob Iger. He made me go. He wouldn't come to code until I went, and then they filmed me there. It's as a hostage video, feel like that was what... He literally had a film crew of me getting on all the rides. And every time I turned around, there was a film crew there writing, and I said, like, help help me. Let me out. I was doing it with my eyes and stuff like that. And and then I called it the unhappiest place on Earth to him. We go back and forth. I went on a Disney cruise too. He forced me on one of those too. That was at a Disney cruise? Great. That was great. There was constant soft serve ice cream. I don't know what else to say. That would... It was perfect. It was so clean and so well done. One of that weird island they made is a little creepy, but, otherwise, it was a flawless... That was a flawless experience with children, I must say.
Scott Galloway · 27:27
That's one of the way... Many ways I can tell I'm getting older. The idea of a cruise doesn't sound horrific to me anymore.
Kara Swisher · 27:31
I hate cruise.
Scott Galloway · 27:32
Up in a different city. Yeah. So I... Look. I don't think it matters back to Disney. They get so many do overs or foul balls because they're just so outstanding. And and kids... You we all go see almost everything. So anything from a credible organization like Disney and kids is gonna they're gonna monetize the heck out of it.
Kara Swisher · 27:48
Yeah. You like the Disney. You live down near the Disney. Right? You're kind of near.
Scott Galloway · 27:51
Yeah. I live near Disney, but my favorite is next to Disney. It's Harry Potter World. That's that's incredible. That's the best of its kind. It's incredible. I don't even like the genre. Weird.
Kara Swisher · 28:01
I'm sorry.
Scott Galloway · 28:02
I was focused into
Kara Swisher · 28:02
that too. Anyway, any other predictions?
Scott Galloway · 28:05
Well, revisiting a prediction, I don't know if it was six or nine months ago, but we said when Facebook was at $150 that despite all the controversy the stock was gonna be at $250 And the moment I said that it dove to 130 and now it's back at $2.00 $5 and I'm doubling down. I think the stock goes to continues is up another 20% by the end of the year. Because if you look at the business and occasionally I check-in and I try and use their tools from the lens of an advertiser it's just staggering how incredibly strong it is. And if you've seen in another prediction revisiting, we said that the day that all the big tech stocks declined and lost the value of Airbus said they were gonna gain back the value of Boeing. And I don't know if you've noticed, but in the last
Kara Swisher · 28:46
Yeah.
Scott Galloway · 28:46
Two and half weeks, they've more than gained back the value of Boeing. Their stocks have ripped up to near highs again.
Kara Swisher · 28:51
Yeah. All of them.
Scott Galloway · 28:52
Amazon's, yeah, Amazon's above $1,000,000,000,000. So I'm just doubling back down on that prediction that Facebook
Kara Swisher · 28:57
has been told Facebook. I
Scott Galloway · 29:00
don't know about Google. Relative to the others, Google actually probably looks the cheapest because it hasn't had the run up of the others. But I don't feel as if I understand the business well enough to make a prediction.
Kara Swisher · 29:10
Any others? Breakout? Uber? Any of the others you think you're gonna break out? You can include
Scott Galloway · 29:15
Well, no. You know my view on Uber and Lyft. But, no, I think that the stock that is gonna continue to rise is Zoom. I think Zoom has got all the the network effects, the explosive growth, and the recurring revenue that's required to become kind of a $2,300,000,000,000 company. So Zoom is my kind of gangster
Kara Swisher · 29:33
So the camera company not a camera issue not an issue for you?
Scott Galloway · 29:37
Oh, no. Speed bump. Media focused on it. Nobody's deinstalling. I mean, they can't do that they can't do that a bunch of times. But, yeah, once once they get a they get a do over. 100%.
— Predictions segment ends —
Kara Swisher · 29:48
Alright. Alright, Scott. So I'm gonna call it. Since you're now gonna interview a presidential candidate with me, which should be comical in every aspect, and you have to, like, ask good questions, etcetera, you have to prepare for it, I'm gonna call out all the major presidential candidates. We are talking to a lot of them. But come on recode decode. You'll get Scott as a bonus. You guys can request him if you'd like.
Scott Galloway · 30:07
Bonus. Oh my god. That was generous. A bonus. You sure I'm not a punishment? I like
Kara Swisher · 30:12
that. Know.
Scott Galloway · 30:13
Wait. Who said he was gonna be here? Who said he was gonna be here?
Kara Swisher · 30:16
Right. Oh, should we do Beidou? Why don't you just do Beidou by yourself? Why don't you
Scott Galloway · 30:20
do that? Don't think I could handle it. I just don't think I could handle it, Kara. I think I'd faint. I think I'd be like one of those Beatles fans, those girls in the sixties that just pass out, and they're trying to revive them.
Kara Swisher · 30:31
I'm not
Scott Galloway · 30:31
gonna I... Yeah. I'll... Okay. Beto. I'll do Beto. Yeah. I can
Kara Swisher · 30:34
do Beto. Okay. Alright. We're Beto. Beto or Beto?
Scott Galloway · 30:38
I think it's Beto.
Kara Swisher · 30:39
Whatever. It's Man Boy. Okay. Man Boy and you and me, it'll be great. And then I will keep saying Man Boy to both of you until you give, essentially.
Scott Galloway · 30:48
Wait. So so just some quick questions on the three candidates. We're in the situation room, and someone's launched a nuclear projectile. Who... Which of those three people you interviewed, Yang, Bennett, or Buttigieg, would you want in that room making the decisions on how to respond to a nuclear a nuclear projectile being launched?
Kara Swisher · 31:04
Michael Bennett.
Scott Galloway · 31:05
Michael Bennett. Who do you think has the most empathy for Americans? And and I think empathy is key. I think that was president Clinton's core competence. I think at the end of the day, he really did wanna help people. Who do you think has the most empathy for middle class Americans?
Kara Swisher · 31:18
Michael Bennett.
Scott Galloway · 31:19
I'm gonna stop asking you questions.
Kara Swisher · 31:21
Keep asking another one and see if I can name another one.
Scott Galloway · 31:24
Who's the most you wanna best idea do. Who take would you to a wedding and make out with after you get drunk?
Kara Swisher · 31:31
Zero. Zero to zero.
Scott Galloway · 31:34
You said to keep going. You said to keep going. You gotta pick one.
Kara Swisher · 31:37
Question is, are I making
Scott Galloway · 31:38
You gotta pick one.
Kara Swisher · 31:39
Potential candidates? What the heck?
Scott Galloway · 31:40
No. Jeez. They're just men.
Kara Swisher · 31:42
Alright. Just men. Moving along. They give me one more good question. I can answer someone else. Best ideas? Andrew Yang. I like his innovative mind. I like... I think
Scott Galloway · 31:49
he's Who is... Who do you think is most likely to not only have great ideas but be effective? And that is... There's a big difference between being right and being effective in Washington. Who would be most effective in getting legislation passed?
Kara Swisher · 32:01
Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris. I just... You know? I just... Kamala Harris.
Scott Galloway · 32:07
Go. Summer. There's your there's your gal.
Kara Swisher · 32:10
Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. And we'll see. We're gonna get them all on, and I'm so excited you're gonna do it with me, Scott. It's gonna be so
Scott Galloway · 32:15
much fun.
Kara Swisher · 32:16
Anyway, we will be back next week. Again, I'll be here in San Francisco. You're gonna be in New York?
Scott Galloway · 32:20
Yes. I'm gonna be in New York.
Kara Swisher · 32:21
Cool. But I'll be in New York soon, and you... I will see you then. And I'm gonna I'm gonna go out finally, I think, probably. Probably not.
Scott Galloway · 32:28
Yeah. Probably not. Probably not.
Kara Swisher · 32:30
Well, we have a live pivot. We have a live pivot, which is sold out.
Scott Galloway · 32:33
Sold out.
Kara Swisher · 32:33
Sold out. Know we're
Scott Galloway · 32:34
Oh my gosh.
Kara Swisher · 32:35
Scott is a
Scott Galloway · 32:36
Oh my gosh.
Kara Swisher · 32:37
Sold out.
Scott Galloway · 32:38
Know something? There's actually... You can get a ticket on StubHub, and someone's trying to mark them
Kara Swisher · 32:41
Really?
Scott Galloway · 32:42
That's right. They're coming to see the big dog play with his ball at the park.
Kara Swisher · 32:47
Anyway Mhmm. No. I mean, it... It's gonna be a great show. We do a great job at live events. We did a great one at code. We
Scott Galloway · 32:52
did a great
Kara Swisher · 32:53
one at South by Southwest. And They're fun. And this one's gonna be a lively evening with the two of us. Correct?
Scott Galloway · 32:59
Yeah. It's gonna be great. Who would have thought these things are fun? This will be our third. They are. They really are fun.
Kara Swisher · 33:04
We're gonna do a ton more all around the country, and we'll coordinate our outfits later. Alright. Camila Salazar produced our show today. Nishat Kerwa is Pivot's executive producer. Thanks also to Eric Johnson and Eric Anderson. Make sure you subscribe to the show on Apple Podcast. If you like this week's episode, leave us a review. You can also email us if you have any thoughts on the show or suggestions of topics you'd like us to hear us discuss. Pivot@VoxMedia.com. Thanks for listening to Pivot from Vox Media. We'll be back next week for another breakdown of all things tech and business.
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