Pivot

Scott and Kara* dissect TikTok CEO Shou Chew’s testimony in the House as the app fends of a potential U.S. ban. And in A.I. news, Google released its chat bot, Bard, to the general public. Plus, President Trump is still a free man, the Fed has raised interest rates yet again, and Ford’s EV business is in the red. Then, a listener question about getting paid in stock. *See what we did there? You can listen to Kara’s interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman here. For a deeper dive on the...

Kara and Scott discuss another round of Amazon layoffs, former President Trump’s call for protests, and of course, raccoon dogs. Plus, the banking drama continues as banks in the U.S. and Switzerland come together to rescue the weakest among them. Also, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before Congress this week. Friend of Pivot Dr. Gloria Mark explains how technology has impacted our attention spans. You can find Dr. Gloria Mark at @GloriaMark_PhD on Twitter, and you can buy her book...

The Biden administration tells Tiktok to leave ByteDance or leave the US. Meta's year of Zuck-ficiency continues, with another 10,000 layoffs. Kara and Scott unpack the decision to backstop Silicon Valley Bank, as Credit Suisse deals with its own potential issues. Also, ChatGPT gains the power of sight, and a listener worries about the growth of legalized gambling. Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Sam Sanders of Into It joins Kara for co-hosting duties! They discuss the latest on the Silicon Valley Bank fallout, then break down this year's Oscars. Also, data security issues are at play in a church scandal involving priests and dating apps, and should Paramount sell BET? You can follow Sam on Twitter at @SamSanders, and you can listen to Into It and Vibe Check wherever you get your podcasts. Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad...

Kara, Scott, and William D. Cohan are back with a bonus episode to talk through Silicon Valley Bank’s 48 hour collapse. What does its fall mean for tech? Who's to blame? Will depositors be made whole? You can follow William D. Cohan at @WilliamCohan. We’ll be back with a regular episode on Tuesday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More layoffs are coming to Meta, and President Biden's pick for the FCC, Gigi Sohn, drops out of the running. As the FTC investigates his company and the wheels literally come off at Tesla, Elon Musk publicly picks (and loses) a fight with an employee. Also, newly-revealed texts from Fox News hosts could be a legal headache. Friend of Pivot Hannah Dreier helps Kara and Scott unpack her latest investigation on the widespread use of immigrant child labor in America's most dangerous jobs. Plus,...

Kara and Scott talk big earnings at Salesforce, Amazon's HQ2 construction pause, and more executive departures at Apple. Also, TikTok ban bills are moving ahead, amid renewed GOP attacks on Big Tech. Plus, we’re joined by Friend of Pivot Jeff Kosseff to discuss how new bills aimed at online speech could challenge the First Amendment. You can find Jeff on Twitter at @jkosseff and you can preorder his book here. Hear Kara’s interview with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff here. You can read the Wall...

Kara and Scott discuss Tesla’s “Master Plan 3,” and TikTok's new time limits. Also, the world of Twitter competitors is growing with Jack Dorsey’s new app Bluesky joining the ranks. Plus, the COVID-19 lab leak theory got a heated boost this week. Friend of Pivot Mehdi Hasan joins to help us definitively decide whether or not Kara’s Chevy Bolt is sexy. You can find Mehdi on Twitter at @mehdirhasan, and you can find his book “Win Every Argument The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public...

Dilbert is out of work after his creator made racist remarks. House Republicans are launching an investigation into the toxic train derailment in Ohio. Also, Twitter has cut staff yet again, and prominent Elon-backers are in the mix. Plus, Meta has jumped into the A.I. race at last, sans a chatbot. Kara and Scott are joined by Friend of Pivot Malcolm Harris on his new book, “Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World.” You can fins Malcolm on Twitter at @BigMeanInternet...

Kara and Scott discuss Don Lemon's troubling comments, the high cost of shooting down UFOs, and Amazon sealing the deal with One Medical. Also, Elon Musk and Tesla return to California. Plus, Mark Zuckerberg wants us to pay for Facebook with the new Meta Verified, and the Supreme Court hears two cases that could impact Section 230, the internet's most important law. Listen to Kara’s latest episode of On with Kara Swisher, “Will Killing Section 230 Kill the Internet?” here. Send us your...

Happy President's Day! Pivot will return on Friday. Today, an episode from our other favorite podcast: The Prof G Pod. Derek Thompson, a staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the Plain English podcast, joins Scott to discuss why he believes America is at a standstill when it comes to progress, including the lack of trust in institutions and a need for an abundance agenda. Follow Derek on Twitter, @DKThomp. Scott opens by discussing potential business opportunities for WhatsApp. He then...

A week of surprising resignations: the FTC’s lone Republican commissioner announced her departure in the Wall Street Journal, and Scotland’s First Minister will step down after drama around a transgender prisoner. Also, the US and China practice electric car diplomacy, and Elon Musk *really* wants you to read his tweets. Friends of Pivot James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams discuss their book, Unscripted, about the scandalous last years of Sumner Redstone. Send us your questions! Call...

Kara and Scott talk Super Bowl ads and legacy blue check wars. And what on Earth (or Mars?) is the deal with all of these UFOs? Plus, the state of Big Tech: the layoffs, the opportunities, the A.I. Also, Friend of Pivot and co-host of Land of the Giants, Lakshmi Rengarajan joins to dicuss all things dating. You can hear more from Lakshmi on Land of the Giants and Paired by the People. Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Kara and Scott discuss the latest changes at Disney, including layoffs, and the expensive mistake made by Google's chatbot. Also in the mix: Adam Neumann is back, and has invented apartments! Plus, how did that Republicans hearing with the former Twitter execs go? The Dawg and Jungle Cat have thoughts. Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara and Scott discuss Google's newest effort to compete with ChatGPT, the Koch network's anti-Trump efforts, and the latest on Elon Musk’s many legal battles. Plus, of course, the fallout from the Chinese balloon. Then, they’re joined by Friend of Pivot, Jerry Saltz to discuss the state of art world. You can find Jerry on Twitter at @jerrysaltz and can get his book here. Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

The Fed eases up on the brakes, Elon Musk looks for new ways to monetize Twitter, and Snap has another rough quarter. Also: Meta may have prevailed in a fight with the FTC. Today’s Friend of Pivot is Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the DOJ. He stops by to discuss Google, antitrust, and his agency's fight against monopolies. Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Today Kara’s out sick and we’re sharing an episode of Land of the Giants. When Tinder launched in 2012, it changed dating culture and our expectations around dating forever by leveraging the iPhone and gamifying the dating experience. But did the rise of dating apps make finding romance easier or harder, and what are the consequences of playing a game that never ends? Subscribe to Land of the Giants to get new episodes every Wednesday. If you miss Scott and Kara you can hear them on their...

Kara and Scott discuss the Bad Blood between the Senate Judiciary Committee and Live Nation, Walmart giving workers a raise, and the cancelled Murdoch merger of Fox and News Corp. Also, will you see more covfefe in your feeds? Trump is back on Facebook and Instagram. Plus, the DOJ is suing Google over its dominance in digital advertising: what took them so long? Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Biden will get a new Chief of Staff, the U.S. Attorney has questions for Amazon, and Elon takes the stand. Over at Netflix: strong subscriber growth, and Reed Hastings is out as Co-CEO. And of course, more layoffs. Then we’re joined by Friend of Pivot Cory Doctorow on his new book, “Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We’ll Win Them Back.” Cory is on Twitter at @doctorow and you can find his book here. Send us your questions! Call...

Kara and Scott discuss Microsoft layoffs, cryptocurrency’s surprising recovery, and Jacinda Ardern’s resignation. Plus, someone bought a Twitter bird statue for $100k, and it wasn’t Kara. Friend of Pivot Zoë Schiffer (@zoeschiffer) joins to discuss all of her recent Twitter reporting, including the work that went in to this week’s major New York Magazine story, which you can read here. Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...