Pivot

By Recode

Technology Tech News

What's Pivot about?

With great power comes great scrutiny. Every Friday, Recode’s Kara Swisher and NYU Professor Scott Galloway offer sharp, unfiltered insights into the way technology is shaping business and culture across media, advertising, politics, and more. Produced by Recode and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

4.5

1,386 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

Twitter and the Saudis, Fac...

11.08.2019

Kara and Scott talk about former Twitter employees who were spying on user data for Saudi Arabia. They also talk about a big leak of internal Facebook emails that further shows Facebook's conniving use of data. A year out from ...

Pivot episodes:

11.08.2019 Twitter and the Saudis, Facebook’s 'Switcharoo', and the 2020 digital ads race Kara and Scott talk about former Twitter employees who were spying on user data for Saudi Arabia. They also talk about a big leak of internal Facebook emails that further shows Facebook's conniving use of data. A year out from ...
11.01.2019 Twitter will stop running political ads ... your move, Facebook Kara and Scott celebrate Jack Dorsey announcing that Twitter will not be running political ads anymore. That puts Facebook on the spot. They talk about Kara's interview with Edward Snowden on her other podcast Recode Decode. In streaming wars news, ...
10.25.2019 The screw-up-billionaire, quantum computers, and the skewering of Zuckerberg Kara and Scott take a victory lap as SoftBank buys out Adam Neumann, the founder of weWork for a cool $1.7 billion. They talk about what the future might hold, now that Google has unveiled its quantum computer. Tesla proved ...
10.23.2019 Mark Zuckerberg the free speech jester, and Marc Benioff the class traitor Kara and Scott met up at Stanford University (where they were both rejected from) for a live Pivot! They talk about the decline of applicants to elite M.B.A. programs, free speech in China and how Zuckerberg says he thinks free ...
10.18.2019 LIVE at the Podcast Upfronts in NYC! Kara and Scott meet up at the Podcast Upfronts in NYC. And we make a special announcement...wait for it... WE'RE GOING TO 2 DAYS A WEEK! BOOM! They also talk about the likelihood that weWork has layoffs and declares bankruptcy. ...
10.11.2019 Going after venture capital culture and the unicorn industrial complex Kara and Scott talk about feuds with VC's, billionaires paying fewer taxes than the working class and tech companies folding to Chinese state media pressure. They take a listener mail question about Sidewalk Labs and the right way to make ...
10.04.2019 Mark Zuckerberg’s leaky staff and the silver lining to WeWork’s downfall Someone inside Facebook secretly recorded Mark Zuckerberg for two hours and sent the audio to The Verge’s Casey Newton; Kara interviews Casey about his scoop and gets Scott’s take on Zuckerberg’s apparent fear of President Elizabeth Warren. They also talk ...
09.27.2019 LIVE from Toronto, Kara and Scott go international! Kara and Scott are live at the Elevate in Toronto -- Pivot's first international appearance! They talk about the continued implosion at weWork and CEO Adam Neumann stepping down. They ask -- have we reached peak "founder"? Wins are whistleblowers ...
09.20.2019 Uber is 'disruptive and drunk', weWork is 'just drunk', and Pivot turns 1! Happy 1st anniversary to Pivot! Kara and Scott talk about weWork's halted IPO (we'll take partial credit). They talk about Amazon manipulating its algorithm to present more of its own products in search. Facebook is making its own "Supreme Court", ...
09.18.2019 'I love Amazon. Let's break it up' Scott joins Land of the Giants host, Jason Del Rey, live on stage at the Code Commerce conference in New York City. Scott tells Jason that Amazon needs to be broken up - and which parts of the company should ...
09.13.2019 LIVE! From the Lesbians Who Tech Summit Kara and Scott talk at the annual Lesbians Who Tech Summit in New York City. Scott is dubbed a #LezBro. They discuss 48 state AG's putting forth an antitrust probe into Google. They love it. Kara comes with her new ...
09.06.2019 Is Uber super f*cked? Let’s ask “Super Pumped” author Mike Isaac Kara and Scott bring on NYTimes reporter, Mike Isaac, to talk about his new book "Super Pumped: the Battle for Uber". They pick his brain about all the Silicon Valley drama around the ride-share company. Scott's win is Walmart for ...
08.30.2019 Peloton “sells happiness” and bedbugs take over Twitter Kara and Scott talk Peloton's S-1 ... is it the WeWork of exercise or an innovation in happiness? They also talk about Facebook's newest attempt to undercut Snapchat. Kara's fail is journalists who can't take a joke. And for the ...
08.23.2019 DoorDash is still stealing tips. And is Tesla for sale? Kara and Scott are back in the studio to talk about Trump bringing foreign policy to Twitter, state AG's taking on big tech and Tesla possibly being bought by Volkswagen (what a world!) Meanwhile, Scott's planning to buy Uzbekistan. Kara ...
08.21.2019 LIVE! From NYC it's Kara and Scott Kara and Scott meet up in New York City for an extra, unfiltered Pivot in front of a live audience. They recap some of the news already happening this week like "The Business Roundtable" redefining their mission statement to include ...
08.16.2019 Sharks, WeWork & Tumblr's tumble from grace Kara and Scott take on sharks, summer in New England, WeWork's IPO and Tumblr's fall. They also talk about how trade-wars with China are slowing down tech. Scott had a win this week when Nike added a "rundle" subscription service. ...
08.09.2019 Hate on 8chan and why Scott's not quitting Equinox Kara and Scott talk about Cloudfare dropping 8chan after its latest link to domestic terrorism and hate speech. They also talk about SoulCycle and Equinox's links to the Trump campaign. Kara's ready to dump SoulCycle, but Scott's holding out on ...
08.02.2019 Facebook wants to read your mind. What could possibly go wrong? Kara and Scott talk about the debates and how questions about big tech...well, didn't really come up. They also talk about Amazon and Apple earnings and how "wearables" are having a moment. In wins we have FOIA and transparency around ...
07.26.2019 The Mueller hearing, Facebook's fine, and revisiting The Case of Al Franken This week, your hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway revisit the democratic presidential nominee race, and talk about the Mueller hearing. In wins and fails, they talk about revisiting controversies like Al Franken's. In predictions, they take a short trip ...
07.19.2019 Peter Thiel is Pennywise, Trump's racist tweets, and Kara meets the Yang Gang This week, Scott wants to scoop on all of Kara's interviews with presidential candidates. Then, Scott and Kara chat Facebook's measly $5 billion fine and Disney's massive staying power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
07.12.2019 Epstein's Out, Rapinoe's In, Plus a Social Media-Less Summit This week Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway are together in D.C.; we repeat: they are together in D.C.! They chat Jeffrey Epstein and double jeopardy, President Trump's social media summit (where no major social media networks were invited?), and whether ...
07.05.2019 Fish and Chips and Biden and Harris and Reddit and Twitter This week, Kara calls in from London! In addition to their excitement for the Women's World Cup, Scott and Kara talk about Zuckerberg's Aspen interview, the Democratic primary debates, and Twitter's decision to label politicians’ tweets that violates its terms ...
06.28.2019 TikTok, Time's Up on Facebook's Content Moderation Sites When Scott Galloway is away, Kara Swisher will play... with The Verge's Casey Newton! This week, Kara and Casey get down and dirty about Bodies in Seats, Casey's exposé on the terrible conditions inside Facebook's North American content moderation sites. ...
06.21.2019 Facebook's New Money and Slack's New Valuation This week, Kara is in New York! And Scott's in... France? So close yet so far as usual, our hosts chat about Facebook's venture into cryptocurrency, Tim Cook's Stanford commencement speech, and YouTube for kids. In wins and fails, looks ...
06.14.2019 Pivot LIVE! From the 2019 Code Conference This week's Pivot is live from the Code Conference in Arizona. Kara and Scott talk regulations for the tech industry and why we need more female CEOs so we don't feel bad about firing the bad ones. Also, our hosts ...
06.07.2019 The FTC and DOJ are Stayin' Alive, and YouTube backtracks on bigotry This week, Kara and Scott talk breaking down the big boys (Facebook, Google, etc) and YouTube kicking out the bad boys ("free speech" haters). Wins and fails this week include the revival of the FTC and DOJ, and some Bernie ...
05.31.2019 Deepfake takedowns, white supremacy on Twitter, and the companies boycotting anti-abortion states Pivot takes up the internet-age-old question of Facebook's responsibilities as a media company. And, should businesses be boycotting states that are passing harsh anti-abortion laws? Also, Kara and Scott discover that both their dads were in the Navy. Learn more ...
05.24.2019 Medium's "Shampoo Effect," and Tesla, coming undone? The hosts opine on Medium, L'Oreal, and Quora. Scott critiques WeWork's EBITDA reporting, as well as the final GoT plot. Kara's back from Canada and her interview with Ev Williams, and now gearing up for the Code conference in Arizona. ...
05.17.2019 Alabama's big fail, Uber's disastrous IPO, and the Facebook breakup debate Recode's Kara Swisher and NYU's Scott Galloway discuss Chris Hughes' Facebook breakup proposal, Away Travel's big funding, how southern states are trying to ban abortion and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
05.10.2019 Chris Hughes' Case Against Facebook, Strikes on IPO Week, GoT vs Avengers "Union Scott" shows up to discuss the work stoppages at Uber and Lyft. Kara asks whether tech money for candidates is tainted. And the hosts analyze Game of Thrones (Facebook edition). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
05.03.2019 Facebook's privacy fakeout, WeWork's reckless IPO, and Reagan the welfare queen Kara and Scott discuss Facebook's new focus on privacy; what comes after the Web 3.0 era; and what Oprah has to say about Scott's new book. Enjoy more of Kara and Scott on Recode Decode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or ...
04.26.2019 The FTC & the "Algebra of Deterrence" Kara and Scott talk about the FTC's fine on Facebook -- it's basically a "parking ticket". They also talk about the bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday and their social media ban. In wins and fails they talk about ...
04.19.2019 Uber's IPO and, more importantly, Game of Thrones Kara and Scott talk about Disney breaking into the content streaming business, the Uber IPO and, yes, Game of Thrones. Facebook actually gets a win this week for bringing on their first African American woman as a board member (but ...
04.12.2019 Mr. Zuckerberg goes to Washington ... again Kara and Scott talk about Congressional hearings on tech platforms responsibility for spreading white nationalism and other hate speech. New Zealand, Australia and the EU are so far ahead of the US in regulations ... when will we catch up? ...
04.05.2019 "It's not a meritocracy, it's a mirror-tocracy" Kara and Scott talk about the avalanche of recent Facebook news -- including Zuckerberg's new professed want for regulations. They also talk about YouTube and how the company actively seems to be overlooking all the toxic things that end up ...
03.29.2019 Will the rising tide of ride sharing Lyft all boats? Scott and Kara are skeptical of Lyft's IPO. What exactly is the network effect of ride shares? Also, Facebook says it's banning white nationalist posts. Cool, it's about time. Will anyone follow? Scott and Kara also talk about what Apple ...
03.22.2019 Does social media cause terrorism? Kara and Scott talk about terrorism against the Muslim community in New Zealand and how social media may be exacerbating this type of violence. They talk about admissions scandal and how colleges are harming the middle class with their exclusivity. ...
03.15.2019 LIVE! From SXSW it's Kara and Scott Kara and Scott are live in Austin, Texas for SXSW. They talk antitrust, the breakdown of big tech and take audience questions and predictions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
03.08.2019 Facebook says it’s all about privacy now. OK, sure. Kara and Scott are back! They talk about Zuckerberg's supposed shift towards more privacy on Facebook and, well, we'll believe it when we see it. Meanwhile Congress is ramping up its efforts on shaking up how we think of antitrust ...
03.01.2019 News flash: Facebook’s contractors are people Kara brings on her former co-host, Wired senior staff writer and Gadget Lab co-host, Lauren Goode. They talk about the moderating content on Facebook -- and the working conditions of the people who are tasked with looking at the gruesome ...
02.22.2019 DC is old news. “The universe revolves around Silicon Valley” Kara brings on co-host, legendary NYTimes journalist, Maureen Dowd. They talk about how Silicon Valley has eclipsed Washington, DC as the country's true seat of power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
02.15.2019 Hot Take: Amazon HQ2 breaks up with NYC Kara and Scott pop back into the studio to give their hot takes on Amazon pulling out of their HQ2 deal with New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
02.15.2019 Is this the year big tech gets regulated? (Probably not.) Scott blusters in from his breakfast with Congress on how to regulate big tech — so Kara and Scott get into whether Congress will ever be regulating tech (seems not so likely). Kara sums up her twitter showdown with Jack ...
02.08.2019 Hot Take: Scott Galloway on Bezos vs. AMI [BOOM!] BONUS episode: Scott couldn't wait to tell Pivot listeners what he thinks about Bezos' post accusing the National Inquirer of extortion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
02.08.2019 Happy(ish) birthday, Facebook. Kara and Scott (sort of) celebrate Facebook's 15th birthday. With pop-ins and hot takes from a couple friends, including Congressman Ro Khanna and podcast Queen Aminatou Sow, they get into how they REALLY feel about the platform. Scott and Kara ...
02.01.2019 Cook vs. Zuckerberg vs. consumer privacy Kara and Scott talk about Apple and Facebook's latest gaffes and how Apple might be the only force left regulating Facebook. There's a-latte to say about Howard Schultz's presidential ambitions. Nancy Pelosi was a big winner this week (and Scott ...
01.25.2019 MAGA teens, Fyre Fest and Twitter wars Kara and Scott talk about how Twitter duped us all again. Scott is fresh off a conference where both he and Sheryl Sandberg talked about the future of Facebook (spoiler alert: they have very different takes on how the company ...
01.18.2019 "Woke" is the 2019 business strategy Kara and Scott are back together again! This week they catch up on Jeff Bezos' divorce and his not so hot texting skills (hey alive girls!). We're pretty sure Gillette listens to Pivot because they took Scott up on one ...
01.11.2019 Tech addiction and how it might be ruining Gen Z Scott brings on a guest-host, his NYU colleague and bestselling author Jonathan Haidt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
01.04.2019 Why the “Fakakta Shutdown” is slowing tech regulation even further Kara brings on guest host Jon Lovett (Pod Save America) to talk about the government shut down, the new Congress and how it all might shake out for big tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Older episodes

Pivot

What's Pivot about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Pivot episodes:

Twitter and the Saudis, Facebook’s 'Switcharoo', and the 2020 digital ads race

Twitter will stop running political ads ... your move, Facebook

The screw-up-billionaire, quantum computers, and the skewering of Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg the free speech jester, and Marc Benioff the class traitor

LIVE at the Podcast Upfronts in NYC!

Going after venture capital culture and the unicorn industrial complex

Mark Zuckerberg’s leaky staff and the silver lining to WeWork’s downfall

LIVE from Toronto, Kara and Scott go international!

Uber is 'disruptive and drunk', weWork is 'just drunk', and Pivot turns 1!

'I love Amazon. Let's break it up'

LIVE! From the Lesbians Who Tech Summit

Is Uber super f*cked? Let’s ask “Super Pumped” author Mike Isaac

Peloton “sells happiness” and bedbugs take over Twitter

DoorDash is still stealing tips. And is Tesla for sale?

LIVE! From NYC it's Kara and Scott

Sharks, WeWork & Tumblr's tumble from grace

Hate on 8chan and why Scott's not quitting Equinox

Facebook wants to read your mind. What could possibly go wrong?

The Mueller hearing, Facebook's fine, and revisiting The Case of Al Franken

Peter Thiel is Pennywise, Trump's racist tweets, and Kara meets the Yang Gang

Epstein's Out, Rapinoe's In, Plus a Social Media-Less Summit

Fish and Chips and Biden and Harris and Reddit and Twitter

TikTok, Time's Up on Facebook's Content Moderation Sites

Facebook's New Money and Slack's New Valuation

Pivot LIVE! From the 2019 Code Conference

The FTC and DOJ are Stayin' Alive, and YouTube backtracks on bigotry

Deepfake takedowns, white supremacy on Twitter, and the companies boycotting anti-abortion states

Medium's "Shampoo Effect," and Tesla, coming undone?

Alabama's big fail, Uber's disastrous IPO, and the Facebook breakup debate

Chris Hughes' Case Against Facebook, Strikes on IPO Week, GoT vs Avengers

Facebook's privacy fakeout, WeWork's reckless IPO, and Reagan the welfare queen

The FTC & the "Algebra of Deterrence"

Uber's IPO and, more importantly, Game of Thrones

Mr. Zuckerberg goes to Washington ... again

"It's not a meritocracy, it's a mirror-tocracy"

Will the rising tide of ride sharing Lyft all boats?

Does social media cause terrorism?

LIVE! From SXSW it's Kara and Scott

Facebook says it’s all about privacy now. OK, sure.

News flash: Facebook’s contractors are people

DC is old news. “The universe revolves around Silicon Valley”

Hot Take: Amazon HQ2 breaks up with NYC

Is this the year big tech gets regulated? (Probably not.)

Hot Take: Scott Galloway on Bezos vs. AMI [BOOM!]

Happy(ish) birthday, Facebook.

Cook vs. Zuckerberg vs. consumer privacy

MAGA teens, Fyre Fest and Twitter wars

"Woke" is the 2019 business strategy

Tech addiction and how it might be ruining Gen Z

Why the “Fakakta Shutdown” is slowing tech regulation even further

Other shows like Pivot: