00:00:00
Don't [ __ ] with El Papo. Even though I I always think there's certain political
00:00:04
instincts that the president has that I don't see that end up being less wrong
00:00:10
than I thought and sometimes right, I do not see any upside here. >> Hi everyone, this is Pivot from New York
00:00:22
Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Carara Swisser >> and I'm Scott Galloway.
00:00:27
>> Y'all back. I see >> back. That's right. That's right.
00:00:30
>> Did you have a good time off? Did you have a nice time? >> Yeah, I didn't do a whole lot, but yeah,
00:00:34
it was really nice. I was in Florida, a lot of walks on the beach with my dogs. Um, actually got kind of bored, which
00:00:41
was a a lovely and strange time. >> Well, we missed you. We had some good hosts, but no one is you. Anyway, we got
00:00:46
to get to things. Let's get to things. There's a lot of news. Jesus Christ,
00:00:49
there was so much while you're away. I think we've forgotten that stuff. But
00:00:52
Poplio says he has no fear of the Trump administration after the president lashed out at him on true social Sunday
00:00:58
night. Trump called the pope quote weak on crime and quote terrible on foreign policy in his post. Neither one of those
00:01:05
are his jobs. He accused Pope Leo of quote catering to the radical left and then told him to focus on quote being a
00:01:12
great pope not a politician. Trump later posted an AI generated image of himself
00:01:16
as Jesus, though it looks like he might have deleted it and told reporters that he thought the image was him as a
00:01:22
doctor. Oh my god, he's such a liar. We'll get to Well, let me get it all.
00:01:26
It's not just the Pope. Trump called out Tucker Carlson, Megan Kelly, Candace
00:01:29
Owens, and Alex Jones over over their criticism of the war last week. Alex Jones responded, "We are witnessing the
00:01:34
Epstein presidency." He's a nod to Scott Galloway there. That Candace Owens said
00:01:39
that it may be time to put grandpa up in a home. Uh, let's see. We'll get to the
00:01:44
latest on the war, but first, talk about this this alienation of everybody. It seems demented. He was tweeting all last
00:01:51
night from like 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. like regularly. Thoughts? >> I I don't see the strategy here. And
00:02:00
granted, I think Trump has had an ability to zag when everyone else is zigging. I thought one of the greatest
00:02:06
insights in political history was when Trump told somebody, "Everybody claims
00:02:10
to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative." He said, "The key is to
00:02:14
be fiscally liberal and socially conservative." And it struck me that that was sort of a genius political
00:02:18
positioning. But I failed to see how alienating a core constituency, the Republican party,
00:02:25
and that is evangelical Christians by taking on the pope. I mean, people say social security is the third rail. I do
00:02:31
think the American public is coming to grips with the fact that the wealthiest generation in the history of the planet
00:02:35
probably shouldn't be taking $1.2 trillion from the most anxious, obese, and depressed generation in history, and
00:02:41
that's people under the age of 40. But that used to be the third rail, but I
00:02:44
would argue kind of the most obvious third rail. You don't go after the I mean, El Don't [ __ ] with El Papa. So I I
00:02:50
just even though I I always think there's certain political instincts that the president has that I don't see that
00:02:57
end up being less wrong than I thought and sometimes right >> I do not see any upside.
00:03:03
>> Also an articulate pope a very articulate and younger pope. >> Outstanding, smart, measured everything
00:03:10
you would want in a leader. >> Uh what are your thoughts? I don't get this at all.
00:03:15
>> I I think this guy is incredibly popular. I don't I don't understand why.
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I think he's jealous of his popularity and his intelligence. And you know, this
00:03:23
guy's been speaking out as as popes sometimes do on wars. You know, Francis did the same thing. And we don't want to
00:03:29
see all this war. And the way you talk about like last week when you weren't
00:03:32
here talking, you know, the decimation of a civilization um in just as a as a tactic. It was just demented. It was
00:03:40
demented. And I think he was responsibly talking out the way a pope might do. And
00:03:45
he has been very firm on war. Like, let's stop it. let's stop the war thing.
00:03:49
He's still, you know, awfully conservative even though you you don't think about it, but he see I suppose he
00:03:54
seems liberal because he says no war. I don't know how that is no war cuz and he
00:03:58
dubtales by the way with the media with the MAGA media which is very against the
00:04:04
war like not just Marjorie Taylor Green another one there's bunches of them that
00:04:08
are now Tim P all of them are sort of I mean to an extent um Rogan but he of course you know high-fived him at this
00:04:17
whatever wrestling stupid thing they were at um but I think you know they're
00:04:21
like mega media doesn't speak full of MAGA I'm like they kind of do they kind
00:04:25
of there's millions and millions and millions of followers and they're growing like crazy. And so I'm not so
00:04:30
sure picking a fight with these mouth mouthy people from Alex Jones to Megan Kelly and Tucker Carlson and Candace and
00:04:37
Owen and um uh Marjorie Taylor Green's a particularly good idea at this moment,
00:04:43
but I don't know. I think he, as I've said, I think he's suffering deeply
00:04:47
cognitively and he's losing it. That's my feeling. Just looking at the tweets
00:04:52
seems to me. >> Yeah, he it does feel like he's lashing out. I don't. Yeah, I I I'm having
00:04:57
trouble. Susie Wilds has ended up being more genius than crazy. This just feels crazy. It feels as if
00:05:03
>> Yeah, she's she is breast cancer. You know, she's may not be as there as
00:05:06
present. She says she is, but it feels like she's gone left the building. >> I didn't know.
00:05:11
>> Um I don't know who's around him. And then look, Marco Rubio looked like a
00:05:15
loser at that W, whatever, whatever was happening. The MF whatever the fight >> invited the UFC fight at the White
00:05:22
House. Yeah, you have to go. >> No, there's no way I'm going. >> Oh, come on. With a little camera on
00:05:27
your head. That would have been good. >> I find UFC fights disturbing. I really
00:05:31
don't like seeing young men who are in peak physical shape beating each other
00:05:34
up like that. I just >> even boxing, which I think is I can see is such an in some ways such
00:05:40
>> so incredible. U even that disturbs me now as I get older. >> I went to a lot of boxing match with my
00:05:46
grandfather when I was a kid. Not a lot, but enough wrestling. He was into wrestling, boxing. Uh my brother Jeff
00:05:52
went to a lot of them anyway. He was a big sports and wrestling and boxing nut, but um and was a promoter in of a lot of
00:05:59
stuff up in Norththeast Pennsylvania. >> Cole and boxing and you turned out
00:06:02
lesbian. What a shocker. >> What a shocker. >> I know. I know. I think I think Trump
00:06:08
>> it's in the batter. You homophobe. Anyways, I can just hear people now
00:06:11
going have something to do with your environment. >> Yes. Yes. I think it had to exactly I'm
00:06:15
a lesbian because my grandfather took me to boxing. Um, so as of this recording,
00:06:20
by the way, the the point is it's all about um what's happening in Iran and
00:06:24
with Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is underway with more than 15
00:06:28
US warships in place to support the Oh my god, this feels like a bad idea. Trump announced the blockade plan on
00:06:34
Sunday, accusing Iran of world extortion. His threats came, he No, his threats came after peace talks ended, as
00:06:42
you know, without a resolution, which often happens. By the way, I give JD Vance a hard time, but these things take
00:06:48
time. Obviously, um he was there leading the negotiations with the US and said Iran chose not to accept our terms. I
00:06:53
think there was issues around the nuclear proliferation stuff. Um Trump is also reportedly looking at limited
00:06:59
military strikes in Iran in addition to the blockade. Um uh it's really um hard
00:07:06
for him because he's stuck, as you said, he's painted himself into a corner many
00:07:10
times. Um they're not budging. Um and and also uh one of I want to note we've
00:07:15
seen a big new type of target in this war, big tech data centers. Last month, Amazon data centers in the UAE and
00:07:22
Bahrain were damaged in drone strikes and Iran has been threatening to attack US companies in the Middle East. I don't
00:07:28
know what to say here. What a mess. He just can't like get himself out of this
00:07:32
situation since these people aren't budging. even if they're on their back
00:07:35
foot, they're still have advantage in a very in a weird way the way Ukraine does
00:07:39
with Russia in in you know it's very hard to unseat them. So I actually think the illuminating
00:07:46
analogy here is the WGA strike and that is key. Robert McNamera um said this back in the Vietnam War that to to
00:07:56
defeat an enemy you have to really understand them and also you have to understand the incentives at play. And
00:08:02
so going back to the WGA strike, they said, "All right, we're going to shut
00:08:05
we're going to go on strike, which means your ability to create content has been
00:08:10
cut off." But what they didn't realize is the most powerful person on the other
00:08:14
side of the table was Netflix. And Netflix could look around and say, "Okay,
00:08:19
our queue, you know, people's playlist is 2 or 3 years deep. I could watch Netflix for the next two or three years
00:08:25
and still not get through my playlist." linear TV, especially late night TV,
00:08:29
which people tune in every night. They're not interested in watching Jimmy Kimmel run down the day
00:08:35
news from two years ago. The other streaming networks who had not been spending $18 billion a year, who had
00:08:40
spent 102 billion a year, their pool was really shallow. So, the most powerful person on the other side of the table
00:08:46
had an incentive to not come to an agreement. And the WGA never recognized that they were negotiating against
00:08:53
themselves because the the other side would pretend to care and not offend anybody and make sure the strike went on
00:08:59
for as long as possible to seed advantage to Netflix as everybody else. All that happened coming out of that
00:09:06
that strike was the most powerful player on the other side of the table garnered
00:09:10
and registered additional value. And this is exactly what's going on here. And to a certain extent, JD Vance would
00:09:17
they poured honey on them and send them hunting for bears because the reality is
00:09:20
the incentive was to draw out the talks for two or 3 weeks have an opportunity to maybe rearm
00:09:27
regroup your missile launch capability, lay some more mines in the straight of Hormuz. But their incentive is for this
00:09:34
thing to go longer because they have stumbled upon visav our in are up your ass strategic planning around not going
00:09:42
in with allies around not securing the straight of horn moves before military action but no goals not not enabling and
00:09:50
coordinating with our Gulf allies. Iran Iran has we have given Iran something that quite frankly is probably
00:09:58
more dangerous and effective than enriched uranium and that is their ability to put a strangle hold on a
00:10:05
chokeold of the global economy called the strait. So they have an incentive for this to go longer. Right now the
00:10:12
IRGC looks to be gaining strength, not losing it through this. They have shown an ability to resist or survive this
00:10:19
type of military action and they have stumbled upon a choke point which has given them unbelievable political
00:10:26
>> they had but didn't think they had before. This is it's a really and sort
00:10:29
of Trump's like don't block that straight and it'll be interesting with
00:10:33
US ships there now. This could be an an economic way to squeeze them, which is important, I think, as always.
00:10:42
>> Um, but it puts like I'm like a ship is there. Oh my god, a drone, a speedboat
00:10:47
coming towards it. You just feel like they're we're kind of big and right out
00:10:51
there. So open for attack in a way that they don't have to do much to really
00:10:57
create a problem for all of us, right? So that's 15 ships sitting there like,
00:11:02
"Oh geez, this guy, this is a guy who govern who who campaigned on America first and not this." So I think it would
00:11:09
only hurt his political standing here and at the same time make him crazier than ever when they don't behave, which
00:11:16
they don't want. They don't have to behave and it's their it's, you know,
00:11:20
they have the I guess they have the home advantage in some weird way compared unless we really want to commit troops.
00:11:26
I can't I can't imagine being I don't have sympathy for JD Vance because I
00:11:30
think he's the cyber truck of politicians but he they really put him like in a situation and he was not going
00:11:37
to succeed in these talks and he also sent him you know failed venture capitalist with two real estate people
00:11:44
and then apparently the guy who's leading I was reading David Ignatius's
00:11:47
column and I'm going to mispronounce his name so I'm not going to leading it is
00:11:51
one of the possible candidates to run Iran at some point very very worldly person high level on every ad. They sent
00:11:58
apparently their best people and we sent them which is like I know we probably sent experts with them too, but it's not
00:12:05
like we aren't showing our finest diplomatic showing if we're going to have any
00:12:10
serious if maybe maybe he doesn't and he's like I don't care if it works or
00:12:13
not. That's not some messaging from the president you like to hear. I don't
00:12:17
know. He just keeps stepping in it because he's old. The majority of battles are won before anyone steps on
00:12:22
the field and that is their supply chain, their strength, their military, their brute force advantage. This
00:12:27
negotiation was over before it started because one group showed up with with incentives to not negotiate or to extend
00:12:34
the negotiations to rearm but not to come to an agreement. Now having said that to be fair this is in my view the
00:12:41
exact right move given where we are right now and that is that we block the straight of Hormuz from any Iranian
00:12:47
ports because that will bring European allies and China to the table who quite frankly
00:12:53
>> who who have more to lose than we do now this notion of we broke it you fix it
00:12:59
diminishes our credibility globally for a long time but something we have taken for granted
00:13:04
>> like a lot of things we've taken for granted that to took huge sacrifice,
00:13:08
huge resources, a lot of brave patriots from around the world giving their lives
00:13:13
such that we can enjoy these things. One of those things is the freedom of maritime navigation. And that is
00:13:19
Singapore has decided not to sequester and block and control the straits of Singapore. And if you if you start
00:13:27
blocking straits through the fear of military action such that no will ensure the hundred or $200 million of cargo
00:13:34
that straight is blocked off. So everybody especially the Gulf players and most especially Russia, Iran and
00:13:43
China have a vested interest in the Straight of Hormuz being open for their ships. So America and I think this is
00:13:50
the right move have said okay >> yeah many Ignatius thought so too. But here's the thing. I just these little
00:13:56
drones and these little boats, I feel like 15 US warships. Yikes. I just feel like we are putting ourselves way out
00:14:04
there and unnecessarily now that this is our only choice. That's the problem. I think we, let's be clear,
00:14:12
not going to Congress, not enlisting Gulf allies, not enlisting European allies, not having a a clear exit
00:14:19
strategy after certain military objectives were met or not met has put us in the definition of a quagmire. But
00:14:26
right now, they have to say to to China and Iran, we're going to create an incentive for you to make sure that the
00:14:32
straight is open. and a multinational force that keep keeps the straight open to everyone's benefit that is job that
00:14:41
is objectives one here no one wants to help Trump because he's not Jesus um but like speaking of
00:14:48
the sad situation for JD Vance by the way JD Vance happens to be Catholic so that's even better uh and he failed in
00:14:55
Iran which I think everyone expected despite some lastminute campaigning from him as well as Trump's endorsement
00:15:01
Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban has been ousted after 16 years in power. Not a good sign for the Trump people.
00:15:08
Orban conceded defeat in the country's general election on Sunday, saying the
00:15:12
results are painful but unequivocal. His opponent, Peter Maguar, called the election a miracle, telling supporters
00:15:18
that we have liberated Hungary and have taken back our country. By the way, Magar was a loyalist of Orban and just
00:15:24
broke with him over a pardon. Um, and so he it's like as if a rhino Republican
00:15:30
won essentially. He's not, you know, Mr. or liberal in any way. More than 77% of
00:15:35
registered voters cast ballots. Amazing. The highest turnout in a Hungarian election since the fall of communism.
00:15:41
You know, it's a really interesting winner. Obviously, he's super handsome
00:15:44
and kind of sexy and everything else, but he's not he's not as liberal as you
00:15:49
think. Let's just be clear. Um, and he also was an Orban uh in the Orban University. He switched parties, but
00:15:55
again, it's very much like, oh, who who has switched? I don't know. George
00:15:59
Conway becoming the president. You know what I mean? someone who was conservative and now is it looks as if
00:16:05
he's not. Um, so and and George can be conservative and liberal and different
00:16:09
things, but he's also running for Congress, by the way, but it's like that. Is this an indicator of a larger
00:16:15
move away from the far right? I mean, obviously Democrats can learn a lot. Um, but this is a little different in in
00:16:21
Hungary, but it is a it's the end of an era. And JD Vance and Trump hugged bear
00:16:26
hugged Orban. So, and so did uh Tucker Carlson. So did um Elon Musk, that whole gang did also. Thoughts
00:16:35
>> since the US's decision to bomb Iran or increase whatever you want to call it,
00:16:40
increase the military escalation or some people would call it a new war. This is
00:16:44
the biggest thing that's happened in the last month. This is Europe uh and a key
00:16:49
component and a healthy important powerful economy saying rejecting the movement to the far right. He said nice
00:16:56
things about said he hopes the UK rejoins the European Union. It is a huge win for UK the for Ukraine. They are
00:17:03
pro- Ukraine and it is a huge defeat for Russia that was hoping to turn Orban and
00:17:09
Hungary into a Russian satellite. Orban was the friction that way. >> Orban was the friction in more European
00:17:16
aid and support of Ukraine. It says something. It was symbolic that JD Vance went over there and after going over
00:17:24
Orban's popularity actually went down. >> But something even more important or I
00:17:30
would argue more important happened. >> The people >> they had the the largest turnout in the
00:17:36
history of Hungary. More a much greater percentage of Hungarians voted than have
00:17:41
ever voted in a US election. There were people singing in the metro. There were people laughing and crying. This was
00:17:48
this was really a wonderful moment for the West. And that's still not the best
00:17:52
thing that happened here. The best thing that happened and it's a real testament
00:17:58
to Victor Orban was he conceded the election. He said he he he thanked his people. He
00:18:07
talked about Hungary and he conceded the election. And when I saw three judges who were being seeking Senate approval
00:18:17
to become judges, and all three of those [ __ ] and when I say [ __ ] I mean someone who has a low character. I use
00:18:23
it as an androgynous comment, refused to acknowledge that Biden had won the 2020
00:18:29
election. Victor Orban has greater character now than many of our Republican- elected officials. If you do
00:18:36
not concede elections, the very basis, the very foundation of democracy does not exist. And a right-wing, some people
00:18:45
would call fascist in Eastern Europe had the decency and the character to concede
00:18:51
the election. >> Yep. Absolutely. I mean, he's a, you know, it'll be interesting to see what
00:18:55
he does next. He'll probably become a right-wing figure, but it seems like right-wingery is sort of on the way out.
00:19:00
This guy is a dressed up version of a conservative for sure, but at the same time he was, as you said, back in
00:19:06
Ukraine, was not a satellite of Russia. Let's hope he, you know, he certainly
00:19:10
looks great. I know it's say he's he seems young and vibrant. Orbin seems old
00:19:13
and corrupt essentially. And so it'll be interesting to see which way he goes,
00:19:17
how he deals with, well, Trump's, I think Trump is a past tense figure at this point for a lot of these leaders,
00:19:23
whoever it happens to be. Um, but it's really is interesting. And you're right,
00:19:27
this country looked like when I saw all those crowds, all those people, I was like, "Oh, this guy's absolute toast in
00:19:34
the way people are handling it." And they just they just were sick and tired
00:19:38
of corruption and fascism. And this this is a country which has suffered at the hands of fascists and different
00:19:44
difficult uh leaders for a long time. So, what's our excuse? That's what I
00:19:48
say. Um anyway, let's take a quick break. When we come back, Eric Swallwell ends his campaign for governor of
00:19:54
California. What a mess. >> Support for this show comes from Netswuite. Every business is asking the
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The guide is free to you at netswuite.com/pivot. netswuite.com/pivot. Scott, we're back. Representative Eric
00:21:07
Swallwell of California says he is resigning from Congress and has suspended his campaign already for
00:21:14
California governor amid multiple allegations of rape, sexual assault, and misconduct. In a post on X, Wall said he
00:21:22
is quote deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past and said
00:21:27
he would fight the quote false allegations unquote. The allegations triggered swift political fallout with
00:21:33
Swallwell losing nearly all of his endorsements within 24 hours. The governor's race remains crowded with
00:21:40
other leading Democrats being billionaire Tommy Styer and former representative Katie Porter. Just so
00:21:46
you're clear, this was started online by someone named Miss Frazzled um who was
00:21:51
who had done a interview with Swallwell and then had gotten a lot of incoming about his behavior which is was very
00:21:57
well known across the spectrum. I did not. But I I I think a lot of people within politics knew about him the same
00:22:04
way I think many people knew about Gonzalez. Like there's there's a lot of
00:22:08
men in politics that people know their behavior. And I think this was pretty well known, which is incredible that he
00:22:16
he walked into this um race with a bomb strapped to his chest. He had to have known. Or maybe he doesn't think he did
00:22:23
anything. That's what he seems to do. So any thoughts on this? You could often
00:22:27
you could possibly see Kla Harris come back in. I don't know. I don't I don't
00:22:31
What do you think about this? Steve Hilton was ahead, just so you know. What do you think's going to happen here?
00:22:36
>> Well, there's two things and that is its impacts its impact on the governor's
00:22:40
race and then what this says about the dynamic of of potential or accusations of misconduct and how we're supposed to
00:22:47
evaluate that. So, I'll go in that order. Uh I think this probably is going to make Tom Star governor. I think that
00:22:55
California is still a heavily Democratic state. I think if if the Democratic if the Democrats consolidate to one or
00:23:03
two leaders and that person gets into the general after the jungle primary, what do you call I think the Democrat's
00:23:08
going to win and I think Starr has the money. I think the next shoe to drop, I think Speaker Pelosi was waiting till
00:23:14
there was some something resembling an emerging leader here. I think it's Tom
00:23:18
Starr. I think she will endorse him. I think he will >> Roana already has. So is Gene Fonda,
00:23:22
interestingly. I think he will be one of the two top candidates. He has the money. The unions don't like him, but
00:23:28
money is more important than unions even in California. I think I think with with
00:23:32
Swallwell dropping out in a consolidation across the Democrats, I think this is probably the moment that
00:23:37
we'll look back on and say this is how Styer became governor. Now, >> to the second issue, and we face this
00:23:44
all the time on boards. >> When a senior level person has sex with somebody and then that person accuses
00:23:50
them of harassment or conduct, sometimes they're [ __ ] cases and opportunistic. Other times there's a
00:23:56
power imbalance that the person takes advantage of. My view on this [ __ ] is the following. We We're not here and I
00:24:03
hate the Democratic Party for having purity tests around people having sex. I think when when Al Franken or whoever
00:24:11
gets run out of run out of dodge such that Chris and Jill can have >> terrible but go ahead
00:24:15
>> can have a sevenminute run for presidency or people have extrammarital affairs that in my view you know okay be
00:24:24
careful who you judge on this [ __ ] but if you are and this is true on boards if
00:24:29
you once you are above a certain level of power as a general not a general as a red line you [ __ ] anybody who works
00:24:37
here, you're out. It creates too much risk. So for me, the question is I if if
00:24:44
law enforcement needs to get involved and decide if there was a crime here, and sexual assault is obviously a very
00:24:48
serious crime, >> needs to be investigated, >> then have it investigated. But before
00:24:52
that even happens, if it's did you have sex with a staffer as an elected representative, if the answer is yes,
00:24:59
then you are out. If you're the Secretary of Homeland Security and you're [ __ ] your number two, then you
00:25:06
are out. If you're the attorney general in Georgia investigating an important
00:25:11
case against the president and you are [ __ ] your number two, then you are out. The staffers are there to [ __ ] each
00:25:18
other, not the elected representative who has power over them because all you're doing is injecting risk into the
00:25:23
entire organization and there is a power imbalance. So whether or not he's guilty
00:25:28
of sexual assault, the crime, the legal authorities should investigate that. But
00:25:33
he should be out before that if he was engaging in sexual relationships with the staffers. There needs to be a clear
00:25:41
line here. There's too much of a power imbalance. >> What's interesting is how many people
00:25:46
knew about it, right? He's texted me to he's wanted to come on the podcast and I
00:25:50
wrote back. I'm like, I'm waiting until there's two left and then I'll think
00:25:53
about who we're going to, you know, I think there's there was so many people
00:25:56
in this jungle >> primary teams with us trying to get on. >> Yeah, exactly. They were all every one
00:26:01
of them, every every candidate in primaries, whether it's Iowa or Texas or wherever, they're all trying to get on
00:26:06
these things. But I was like, well, let's just wait till there's two, which
00:26:09
is what I told him. Um, but I did I did think I was surprised to find out. And by the way, kudos to the people online
00:26:18
who actually handled it rather well. It was it was until nobody no credible journalist from a major media
00:26:25
organization would look into it. Now, it was broken. It was broken online by this
00:26:29
Miss Frazzled who did had done an interview with him and then had a lot of incoming. But she covers education. Like
00:26:36
that's the thing. And and I think a lot of the political reporters had some sense of this from what I could
00:26:41
understand. Um but it was broken by the Chronicle and CNN. Um Pam Brown did a report on it. I was sort of flumxed by
00:26:51
one, why would you run when this many things were you would be aware of things you did and then two why nobody in media
00:26:59
had started to look at it because same thing with Tony Gonzalez too like a lot of the and there's more than that in
00:27:05
Congress that I don't think that you should be on a hunt for this stuff necessarily but this was really well
00:27:11
known now in hindsight like I think it was kind of healthy for the Democratic party to speak out right to like people
00:27:19
to even if they were friends with him or had endorsed him. I thought that was relatively healthy response from the
00:27:26
Democratic party for lots of reasons and there should be an investigation. That's
00:27:30
exactly what every single party in this deserves and the public should expect. And that that that was the only part I
00:27:37
was sort of like really it was I mean I had no I I was s not surp I guess I'm
00:27:43
not surprised any time by anything but I was amazed by how many people within these parties both of them know this
00:27:50
stuff pretty well. That always surprises me. I don't know about you. >> Look I think we need I mean there's just
00:27:57
need structural reform or this will continue to happen. We need Citizens United to go away. We need Jeremy to go
00:28:02
away. We need to pay representative Swallwell and the other representatives five to ten times more than they're
00:28:09
getting paid now such that they can do their job and not have to compromise themselves and start trading stocks. I
00:28:16
heard Ro Connell, one of my heroes, is actually outperforming the S&P all of a
00:28:20
sudden. We need structural reform and part of that structural reform is very clear lines. And that is if you are a
00:28:27
powerful senator or congressperson, the moment someone comes to work, >> say any, not powerful, any
00:28:33
>> any 100% any any person elected to federal office, it's awesome to be you. You're going to
00:28:40
go, you have the best rap at a bar. What do you do? Oh, I'm the I'm the elected
00:28:45
congressperson from the great state of California. Wow, I would really like to have sex with you.
00:28:52
Wow. You sir, we'll we'll find a reservation for you. Sir, let us escort
00:28:57
you to your plane and circumvent security. Sir, let us be let can you be our honored guest? Can you be the
00:29:04
commencement speaker at your former high school? It is awesome to be an elected federal official. One of the few
00:29:12
downsides is that anyone who works for you that you have power over their livelihood, you cannot have sex with.
00:29:22
Simple, cut and dry. No story, no context dependent. If you decide you have feelings for each other, then one
00:29:29
of you needs to resign and pursue the relationship because it creates way too much risk, distraction from the
00:29:38
important work they do. And guess what? I I'm sympathetic. And by the I don't
00:29:42
I'm not one of these people that doesn't believe in intraoffice romance. If you
00:29:46
get a bunch of people in a close and tense environment, they're going to start having sex. It's the senior level
00:29:51
people that have power that don't get to do it. The young people have at it. As
00:29:55
long as it's consensual, as long as no one feels pressured, that's what young
00:30:00
people are supposed to be doing. >> This case has more than that. This is not just
00:30:03
>> that's not this. I agree with you. >> Right. So, I mean, that's an that's it's
00:30:07
it's a problem for him. Let's have some common sense laws. Yeah. >> Or common sense norms and standards. All
00:30:14
right. >> When you have this kind of power imbalance, you are injecting risk and
00:30:20
your fly is up and locked. You take it off campus. You want to have extrammarital affairs. You want to have
00:30:25
orgies. You want to have sex with people the same sex as you while passing anti-
00:30:30
or homophobic laws. Fine. It's a it's a lack of character, but you don't get
00:30:34
expelled from Congress. You abuse your power dynamic and inject the entire office to risk. You're out. Make it
00:30:42
simpler for them. No gray area, >> I guess. I don't know. We'll see what
00:30:46
happens here. It's not a great story. Anyway, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant
00:30:50
met with the country's top bank executives last week along with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, warning them about
00:30:55
Anthropic's new Mythos model. Bessent raised concerns about cyber security, making sure banks are aware of the risk,
00:31:01
taking precautions. Anthropic itself has been sounding the alarm saying mythos is
00:31:05
so powerful uh it's potentially danger it's not been released to the public
00:31:08
yet. Instead they're keeping it to a small group of companies to test to find
00:31:11
v it finds vulnerabilities in all manner of places. This Bessant meeting appears
00:31:16
to be separate from the Pentagon's clash with anthropic which is still playing
00:31:19
out in court. Um, you know, this is really a problem where the as these as these models continue to evolve in terms
00:31:29
of uh staying too far ahead of the defense. The offense is much stronger than the defense. Um, and of course,
00:31:36
Bessant uh is talking to banks about using it, but also at the same time using it to protect themselves. What a
00:31:42
mess. What a mess. Another mess. >> Yeah. I don't have a I find that the
00:31:48
worst thing to do right now is to be a cabinet memory going on and trying to trying to defend these policies. I don't
00:31:56
I >> I think it is the government's interest to help companies figure out as these
00:32:01
see one might start to regulate these things in terms of the way we do everything else nuclear arms etc etc
00:32:08
development of of important technologies and if it's going to be dangerous to
00:32:12
companies and let everyone in the back and take everybody's money it seems I
00:32:16
don't know B I mean Bessence is doing the right thing here but it's just
00:32:20
ridiculous that they have that the Pentagon is then mooring with Anthropic which came forward which companies
00:32:26
usually don't in this case. Often companies keep it to themselves until a disaster. All right, Scott, let's go on
00:32:31
a quick break. When we come back, Sam Alton's home gets targeted in multiple
00:32:35
attacks. >> Support for the show comes from Vanguard. To all the financial adviserss
00:32:40
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All investing is subject to risk. Vanguard Marketing Corporation distributor. Scott, we're back with more news. Sam
00:33:33
Alman's home was targeted twice over the weekend. Once with a suspect throwing a
00:33:37
Molotov cocktail and the second time with a car stopping, firing a gun at the residence. Lives in San Francisco. The
00:33:42
subject in the first suspect in the first attack was later found at the Open AI headquarters threatening to burn down
00:33:48
the building. Probably has some mental problems. Sam Alman responded to the first attack in a blog post saying he
00:33:53
emphasized with anti-technology sentiments and clearly technology isn't always good for everyone. In the post,
00:33:59
Sam Alman noted that the incident came a few days after an incendiary article was
00:34:04
published about him and the New Yorker raising questions about his trustworthiness. He shouldn't blame the
00:34:08
article. It was an excellent article by uh Ronan Pharaoh. that's not what caused
00:34:12
it. Uh but nearly a third of young adults say AI makes them angry. These are new polls. Um you know this is
00:34:18
unfortunately where it leads these and and to blame using the word incendiary was really unfortunate on Alman's
00:34:25
behalf. Um but there is you know this is I hate to blame someone for what's happening here because anyone that uses
00:34:32
violence is should be widely derided um by everybody. But it still is this is how it goes. I used to say this to them.
00:34:40
If you don't if you don't do something about this, you're going to have to
00:34:42
armor plate your tester unfortunately cuz people start to get really pro violent is what where it often leads
00:34:51
to. Your thoughts? >> I just think there I mean speaking of red lines here, we just can't we can't
00:34:59
in any way justify we have to move swiftly against any violence against any citizen. And
00:35:05
>> you know I'm not a fan of Sam Alman. I think big tech has done tremendous
00:35:08
damage and these CEOs have done tremendous damage to the United States and most importantly to our youth
00:35:15
ripping at the fabric of America. We have to have zero tolerance for violence against them in any fashion. And um you
00:35:23
know I don't like Sam Alman. I I think he's I I we were talking about this off
00:35:27
mic earlier when you were on my podcast. I think there are few people who have seen such a 180 in their brand in such a
00:35:33
short side of uh span of time. Effectively the brand march of tech executives is they're very likable.
00:35:40
They're very charming. We need to do better. She should run for president. Oh, I love her book. Lean in. And then
00:35:46
over time we find out that they make a bunch of incremental decisions that are bad for America such that they can get
00:35:51
richer and richer and eventually they turn into a bond villain. That march is usually about a 7 to 10 year march. For
00:35:57
Sam Alman was 18 months. Remember Sam was the more thoughtful guy with the hush tones like
00:36:03
>> there are really really we are very concerned about some of the implications
00:36:07
of AI and we need oh senator I don't I don't own any now but go ahead >> I don't own any equity in yeah
00:36:14
>> in open AI oh what a guy this nice young gay man in t-shirts who seems to be the
00:36:20
caring tech CEO okay I just want to go on record of saying this guy's going to
00:36:25
this guy will say say or do anything to make more money That's why they go into
00:36:29
this business. There are easier ways to find self-satisfaction than running a tech company right now. You're there for
00:36:36
the money. You get tremendous pressure and obligation to represent your shareholders. You want to win. It is a
00:36:42
thunderdome. It is easy to understand why they get there. The real failure is there's abs fuckingutely no regulation
00:36:47
on these individuals. And so when people start coming at them, like I don't like
00:36:54
it when people start yelling insults verbally at JD Vance. I I think there has to be a level of civility and safety
00:37:01
such that we work things out at a government level. And I know there's a lot of people who disagree with my views
00:37:06
on Israel. People don't assault me verbally on the street. I feel like I'm
00:37:12
poking the bear here. I think it's important. I saw Senator John Ton in Nantucket. I went up to him and I
00:37:18
thanked him for his service. I don't agree. I disagree with almost everything
00:37:22
he does and I immediately disclosed I'm a Democrat, but I said we're both
00:37:26
Americans. I we one of the hallmarks of a progressive society that we all want to live in is we recognize we're all
00:37:34
Americans and as long as we're operating with the within the confines of the law,
00:37:38
which quite frankly Sam Alman is, and that's the problem is there aren't any
00:37:41
laws, >> he deserves to live >> in peace and safety. >> Yeah. Let me say he shouldn't have
00:37:47
blamed the article for it. This was a rarely well-reported article. It did not. Suddenly people don't hate Sam
00:37:52
Alman because of this article. They have these feelings and unstable people act on them because of a perceived uh
00:37:59
rapaciousness by tech companies. And so >> it's probably a mentally ill young man.
00:38:03
>> That's correct. That's >> who read about Sam Alman. >> Yeah.
00:38:06
>> You know the the guy who killed John. Crazy people are drawn. They believe
00:38:11
that in a in a historic act of violence, it will restore or give them social capital. That's why they do it there. I
00:38:21
don't know anything about this individual, but there's a very good chance it's someone who's isolated and
00:38:26
is hoping to gain social capital through what they see is a heroic act of violence. And the FBI and our security
00:38:34
apparatus need need to ensure that that famous people can walk the streets and have some semblance. My old home I
00:38:43
bought a home in San Francisco and I bought it for $720,000 and two years later I wanted to move to New York
00:38:51
and I sold it for $950,000 and thought I was a [ __ ] real estate genius. That home ended up being next to the home
00:38:57
where ultimately it's no longer there now. So, you don't need to look up the
00:39:00
address, but it ended up being the home next to where Mark Zuckerberg lived in San Francisco in the neighborhood you
00:39:05
live in. >> My neighborhood. >> And now my home >> is where his security detail lived.
00:39:11
>> Oh, yeah. >> Because he had they basically started blocking off the block. So, after that
00:39:16
election in the Netherlands, and I love this, the prime minister stepped down and then got on his bike and rode away.
00:39:23
I mean, I'm like, they they win. They win. He doesn't need the beast. He He doesn't
00:39:30
need it. He doesn't need his kids escorted to school. >> I have been unfortunately seeing the the
00:39:36
need for it. They do need it. It's really crazy. But one of the things was I was like, we got to deal with what's
00:39:42
happening here. You're going to have crazy people attracted to you. It's
00:39:45
going to happen because it's inevitable. And with just the enormous wealth, the
00:39:49
same thing. It's really creates real problems. But you should not. Whoever did these things are considering it. We
00:39:55
you are horrible people to that's how you you deal with problems. There's lots
00:39:59
of ways to deal with problems and even if you feel desperate you should seek help.
00:40:03
>> The anger needs to be funneled towards the ballot booth. >> That's right.
00:40:08
>> And that is I need people who will keep these people in check. I need people
00:40:13
that when Jeff Bezos or or Elon Musk peace out to Florida and Texas that there are elected representatives who
00:40:21
will figure out a way to tax the earnings they accreted from the great states of Washington and from
00:40:26
California. I need people who will ensure that social media is gated. There is no reason people under the age of 16.
00:40:34
But be clear folks, if you're waiting on the better angels or these tech executives to show up, don't hold your
00:40:38
breath. And then when they take advantage of the system and it create massive wealth,
00:40:44
>> that is not a cause for violence. >> We do have to acknowledge there is an
00:40:47
huge I get yelled at for not stopping Elon Musk before and I I I get like more than yelled at like threatened. So I
00:40:55
don't know what to say. It's not the way to handle these things. Anyway, uh
00:40:59
lastly, a quick grabag of other topics I'd like to hit. Over a thousand Hollywood heavyweights have released a
00:41:04
letter opposing Paramount's acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery, saying the
00:41:07
deal would harm the industry. Paramount uh responded to the letter by saying, "We hear and understand the concerns of
00:41:13
some in our creative community have raised and respect the commitment to protecting and expanding creativity.
00:41:18
This transaction brings together um uniquely brings together complimentary strengths to create a company that can
00:41:23
greenlight more projects, back bold ideas, support talent across multiple stages of their careers, and bring
00:41:28
stories to audiences of truly global scale while strengthening competition by ensuring multiple scale players in
00:41:34
investing and creative talent." Uh he they also said they're going to they
00:41:38
have they continue their commitment to increasing output to a minimum of 30 high-quality feature films with full
00:41:44
theatrical releases, continuing to license content and brands. Um and he they said we understand the concerns.
00:41:51
We're going to do what we say. Scott and I do not believe them, but they they're
00:41:55
reestablishing their commitment to it. Reaction, where's this going? Also, Europe is looking like it's going to
00:42:00
possibly block part of it. Slow going. They'll eventually get it through. What
00:42:04
is the greatest movie of all time? Obi-Wan Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi feels a disturbance in the forest cuz the planet
00:42:10
of Aldderon is killed by a space laser and millions of people screamed. If this deal goes through, you're going to hear
00:42:16
millions of people in the creative community scream because this is going to be the most destructive
00:42:21
uh force of human capital in the creative community we've ever seen. There is no way they can justify this
00:42:27
price if they don't implement the AI that they believe will give them the efficiencies they need to justify this
00:42:34
price. So, I've been saying this for 3 months. Why the where the [ __ ] are the
00:42:38
unions? >> So, if >> this should have gone the way they were going to do it, which was spin off CNN
00:42:44
and spin off the studios and then maybe do acquisitions of pieces of it that made economic sense. This is
00:42:51
>> they're too [ __ ] late. Too [ __ ] late. >> This letter should have come out. They
00:42:55
should have said to Ellison and and also the Gulf States and the people financing
00:43:00
this deal, >> the day this goes through, you are not going to get a single piece of content
00:43:05
made. >> This is unworkable for us. >> Yep. Yep. Absolutely. And next one. Elon
00:43:12
Musk gave $10 million to two major Republican super PACs at the end of last year according to campign finance
00:43:17
disclosure. Then the FDC investigated ad firms that had steered clear of Twitter
00:43:21
as they are allowed to do and those firm just settled to make it all go away. I just this is rid he's been using the FCC
00:43:28
the FTC in all manner of ways including Marco Rubio around the center for countering digital hate in order to get
00:43:35
his beasts won that he can't win in court. Uh and the FTC does this and these firms finally just settled even
00:43:41
though it's within their right not to not to advertise on a at a Nazi porn bar. But quick thoughts.
00:43:48
>> This goes back to the same thing. That's two things you need. You need structural
00:43:51
reform. He's allowed to do this. Until we get rid of Citizens United, billionaires are going to continue to
00:43:56
control more and more. Billionaires and corporations are going to continue to to
00:44:00
leak or we're going to continue to leak capital from labor and the middle class
00:44:04
and consumers to billionaires and corporations because of their ability to strategically weaponize government. 300
00:44:11
people now are responsible for a fifth of all tax spending. And guess what? They can deploy it wherever they need it
00:44:16
strategically. The best ROI in history. I've said this personally. I give a little bit of money to politicians. I'm
00:44:22
shocked. I don't mind that they're [ __ ] What shocked me is what cheap horses they are.
00:44:26
>> When I You don't expect the FTC and the FCC. >> I don't ask for anything. But my point
00:44:31
is, >> but I'm saying usually those agencies didn't do this and now they look this
00:44:36
has been going on for a while. These guys are more brazen about it and quite frankly more efficient about it. There
00:44:41
needs to be an absolute restriction. Until Citizens United is overturned, we're going to have more and more of
00:44:48
this. Also, until this this straight corruption, it used to be more opaque. But I'm I'm I've said if I had someone
00:44:58
in prison who I wanted out, I think for between$1 and3 million through a third party, I could get them out within 24
00:45:05
months. >> Yeah. the head of the FTC and the head of the FCC really are are are creatures
00:45:10
of these of Elon Musk essentially and others. Um, and a federal judge has dismissed President Trump's. He doesn't
00:45:17
always win $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal which claimed the paper defamed Trump with a story
00:45:22
saying he had sent the birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein. Uh, the courts keep pushing back at Trump and all, you know,
00:45:28
in this case the journal fought as opposed to CBS and settled or or other other ABC CBS settled. So, uh, it looks
00:45:36
like the journal has the real victory here. Um, you know, I think good thing. I mean, what a stupid he does all these
00:45:42
stupid nuisance cases and loses them. >> We've been really weak on government
00:45:46
corruption. The one the silver lining here, the thing that's holding is first
00:45:52
amendment. It does feel like both Trump appointees and appointees before Trump are saying free free speech is paramount
00:45:59
and we're yeah, we're going to throw this out. The problem is is enough suits
00:46:04
creates a chill. I was talking to a producer of a of a very popular show and they said, "We're checking everything
00:46:09
now, double, triple checking, and occasionally when something's on the margin, we don't print it cuz we're
00:46:14
we're freaked out." So, but it does appear when they these things do go to
00:46:18
court, they are universally swatted away. >> Swatted away. Absolutely. Well, we'll
00:46:23
see where that goes. He doesn't have much time. Trump does not have much time. All right, Scott, one more quick
00:46:28
break. We'll be back for wins and fails. Okay, Scott, let's hear some wins and
00:46:32
fails. Would you like to go first? >> I'll go first. So, my win is Cara
00:46:36
Swisser Wants to Live Forever. I was pleasantly surprised. I really shocked. >> I I knew you would do a good job, but I
00:46:43
was really surprised, quite frankly, at the production values. It feels cinematic, the colors, the
00:46:47
cinematography. >> It was It felt very rich, for lack of a better word. It felt like an, you know
00:46:53
what I felt like? I thought that could have easily been an original scripted series on Apple TV. It felt very,
00:47:00
>> for lack of a better, just felt very rich. So, congratulations. I I think
00:47:04
it's nice for you. I know you spent a lot of time on it >> and I really I've only seen the first
00:47:08
episode, but I really enjoyed it. Um, >> and it airs Saturday night at 10:00.
00:47:13
When does it air? >> 9. Saturday night at 9. >> Unless JD Vance does
00:47:17
go every week. >> That made me so happy. >> I know it. >> I'm like, "Oh my god." I turned it on. I
00:47:22
turned it on because I want I want you to have good numbers. And And I turned on both TVs. I don't know if they count
00:47:28
them twice. And then I see JD Vance. I'm like, "This has to be." I'm like, "I'd
00:47:34
love to see Cara's face when she saw JD Vance at her in her hour >> slot." We laughed. You know, we had an
00:47:38
extra cop. We had a party. We were having a party in DC. Tammy had it ran it. Um, and we had a copy of the show,
00:47:45
so we were able to show it to people. But first, we're like, "Oh, fuck." And
00:47:48
it just The thing is CNN had a picture of a door. Did you see that? For an hour. There was the door that JD Vance
00:47:55
was behind. And so it was just the door >> where he came out and said, "We've got
00:47:59
nothing accomplished." >> Yeah. >> I know. Yeah. >> Yeah. No. So that's my
00:48:04
>> Thank you, sweetie. >> That's my win. My fail out. It's not
00:48:07
even a It's not even a fail. I have two wins. >> Look, the election in in Hungary is so
00:48:15
huge and so wonderful on a lot of levels. But my win is Victor Orban. I I I if a fascist who ruled for 16 years
00:48:24
can concede an election, so can we. So can we. And think about what we have done in this country. If you had a team,
00:48:33
a basketball team and a head coach and they lost 68 to72 and then the head coach refused to shake the hand, told
00:48:41
his team, "We won the game," told the media we won the game, refused to show
00:48:47
up for the the medal ceremony or whatever it was, would you decide to make that guy the head of the league?
00:48:54
I if we can't have the peaceful transfer of power, none of this other [ __ ]
00:49:00
matters. And Victor Orban, who I'm not a fan of, >> who I am not a fan of.
00:49:06
>> Yeah. >> Understood. Understood. He said his >> for now he's only 62. So, okay.
00:49:13
>> But he said, Orban said he congra he called to congratulate Maguar. Is that
00:49:19
his name? >> Maguar. >> And he wrote Orban said the responsibility and possibility of
00:49:24
governing was not given to us. I mean, a simple line, a simple line, this guy showed more fidelity to democracy
00:49:36
than not only our corrupt president, but so many of the people who want to be a judge are willing to do right now. So,
00:49:46
it's a strange win, but my win goes to Victor Orban for conceding an election.
00:49:53
I am so thrilled for the Hungarian people. It is an inspiration. the way they have. And it also, quite frankly,
00:50:00
it bodess really well for us because we are a lot more connected. >> That's right. Than people believe.
00:50:06
>> You have to. Let's see. JD, when you lose the presidency, you better act like
00:50:09
that. Anyway, uh I have a failed I usually like when women say their peace, but I thought two women this week
00:50:16
weren't so great. Melania Trump made a rare speech to talk about >> God, that was weird.
00:50:22
>> It had so much what the [ __ ] [ __ ] It was what the hell? Why is she talking
00:50:26
about this? There m we thought there was a story and then there just cuz she's
00:50:30
mad about it. She doesn't She's like I was not a paid escort or sex trafficked,
00:50:36
you know, and it's like well like I think she wants to make it clear she isn't a prostitute. That's what or a se
00:50:43
sex >> we all prostitutes at some point. >> I know. I was like, "Well, you still you
00:50:47
like, okay, so you went through a marriage broker kind of thing." Like, she didn't do that, but you know, I
00:50:52
think she wants to doesn't want to. I don't know what she was doing. I thought, what in the actual [ __ ] is
00:50:58
happening here? And you know, they say Trump didn't know, but there's such like
00:51:01
I was like, what is happening? And why is Epstein back? >> Like, oh, good. Let's talk about
00:51:07
Epstein. And then I think she like crapped on those surviv the real survivors who really did suffer because
00:51:13
you know just to get her little piece out there and what a selfish uh person she was. Well she is what am I talking
00:51:19
about? And then this strange profile of Lawrence Sanchez in the New York Times which Katie Kirk had the best reaction
00:51:25
is were you forced to do this assignment to the writer Amy Chosk. I I didn't know
00:51:29
why she she was telling me how happy she is which is great but I don't know what
00:51:33
it was there for. There was nothing to hang it on. I guess the mech gala. I'm
00:51:37
not sure. But it was like so tonedeaf. Like I'm really happy. And in our $230
00:51:42
million house in Florida, we talk do gratitude to each other every morning. Just more of this sort of performative
00:51:50
romance with Bezos is so icky. I just find it I just didn't understand it. >> Cara, do you remember that line from
00:51:56
broadcast news? It's it's one of the greatest lines in movie history where
00:51:59
William Hurt says to Albert Brooks, "What happens when your real life exceeds your wildest dreams?" And Albert
00:52:06
Brooks turns and says, "Keep it to yourself." >> Keep it to yourself.
00:52:10
>> My dad, >> I've been thinking, you know, I I love this statement and I use it as a one of
00:52:16
the definitions of masculinity. Are you optimizing for attention or service? >> Mhm.
00:52:21
>> And Lawrence Sanchez, from everything I've heard, is a really nice woman.
00:52:25
People who know her say wonderful things about her. You have an amazing life. Keep it to your [ __ ] self. Talking
00:52:33
about your amazing life in virtue signaling. I It's like I have a buddy who is so successful, such a good
00:52:39
friend, such a good citizen, and he's a [ __ ] disaster when it comes to his
00:52:44
relationships. And I said to him, I said, "Don't you have any really good
00:52:48
friends that can tell you what they think of what you're doing? Who saves you from yourself?"
00:52:54
>> Nobody here. She's got the money if she and this is the same thing with Lauren.
00:52:58
It's like >> don't you have any friends to say to you, go girl, have an amazing life. Do
00:53:03
good things with your money. >> Be take care of your parents. Take care of your community. Give money away. You
00:53:09
don't need articles in the New York Times talking about what a spiritual wonderful person you are and how
00:53:14
wonderful your relationship is. There's no way. It's just going to make you look
00:53:18
like an [ __ ] Like, don't that's my question, Carrot. Don't these people
00:53:22
have friends? Especially as the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos just gave $70 million to Meals on Wheels and never said a word
00:53:28
about herself. I mean, >> about the mugs they have or hunk or >> honk.
00:53:35
>> She needs friends. >> I Well, she has friends. She has the wrong friends. Lauren, call us up. We'll
00:53:40
help you. We'll bring you back down to earth. But I don't think she cares. I
00:53:43
think she she could do so much good and instead she's I just don't know.
00:53:48
>> It's something I I struggle with. My dad told me just be I I started to get some
00:53:52
success before he passed away. And the last thing he said to me that really stuck with me was he said, "The key to
00:53:58
happiness in America is to be rich and anonymous." And he said to me, he said,
00:54:04
he said, "Son, I'm worried." Uh, he goes, "I'm really happy that you've
00:54:08
achieved your the former. I'm worried about the latter." >> Oh, smart.
00:54:13
>> You don't appreciate the value of anonymity. >> Well, too bad. Too late. Um, but I if
00:54:18
you ever do an interview about us cuddling and doing gratitude, I'll [ __ ] kill you.
00:54:21
>> I gave her a mug. >> Okay. >> I gave her a mug that said that said you
00:54:26
look like Rachel Matt's accountant. >> I gave you >> Rachel Matto mechanic. That's That's
00:54:32
your fashion. >> We'll see you next Tuesday. Mug. >> Uh, my win on the other hand, we
00:54:37
adorable. >> I know. We're adorable. Aren't >> we adorbs? >> Adorbs. Um, my win is another outspoken
00:54:43
woman hacks is final season. I saw the first episode. So good. Jean Smart, Hannah Ein Bender, the whole freaking
00:54:51
cast. It's about a woman who talks out loud and is so wonderful. I just love
00:54:56
it. Love it. Love it. And I just I recommend everybody watch this last season. The the whole team there is
00:55:01
spectacular. There's not they and they all share in the wonderfulness and I have to say it's very sweet. It's about
00:55:08
a family. It's about Anyway, Jean Smart is really a woman I'd like to have keep
00:55:13
talking. And by the way, her speech in last season was so precient about companies trying to quiet uh uh uh
00:55:20
performers and comedians and stuff like that. So, I thought that was amazing. So, please watch it. It's worth it. It's
00:55:24
on HBO Max. Um >> my favorite one of my favorite lines. They're going to name a street after
00:55:29
you. It'll probably be a dead end with an abortion clinic on it. >> Just beautiful writing. Um anyway, those
00:55:36
those are the kind of things I I think you should pay attention because it'll
00:55:39
make you laugh out loud. We want to hear from you. Send us your questions about business, tech, or whatever's on your
00:55:43
mind. Go to nymag.com/pivot to submit a question for the show or call 85551 pivot. And elsewhere in the
00:55:49
Karen Scott universe. This week on on, I talked uh more about my CNN series, Caris Wisher Wants to Live forever on
00:55:55
the topic of longevity. I talked to a panel of experts, including journalist Katie Kirk. She talked about why people
00:56:00
seem more inclined to trust dubious wellness claims than doctors. Obviously, Katie was really well known for being
00:56:05
one of the first people to call attention to colon cancer. She had a her husband died of this and she had a
00:56:10
colonosby on on camera. Speaking of power broadcast news back then, it was really important to bringing down uh
00:56:16
cancer rates. Really amazing thing she did and continues to do. Let's listen to
00:56:20
a clip. People want answers and honestly they they often don't like the answers
00:56:26
that they get. You know, they want to believe they you know, my joints hurt. I want to believe that collagen is going
00:56:33
to make me less achy when I get up in the morning. I want to believe that I'm
00:56:37
going to be more flexible with collagen, you know, and so I think that that that
00:56:43
people, you know, are grasping for ways to feel better and I think there is a lot of suffering out there. Really smart
00:56:52
voice on all this. Okay, that's the show. Thanks for listening to Pivot and be sure to like and subscribe to our
00:56:56
YouTube channel. We'll be back on Friday.