Kara and Scott talk about what it means for Amazon to be paying (minimal) taxes, as Jeff Bezos is "going Hollywood", and the company battles with the government over JEDI. They also revisit Google's quiet dismissal of top executives -- the company's longtime head of HR left this week. This week, the FTC ordered the big tech companies -- Facebook, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple -- to hand over information about all the mergers and acquisitions that were too small to report over the past decade....
Feb 14, 2020•54 min•Ep. 81
Kara and Scott talk about The Oscar's and how the award is being rebranded. They discuss Uber's most recent earnings call and whether or not they'll actually be profitable next year. Kara thinks that while the January jobs report showed employment is up, it is a poor marker of success because of wage stagnation. In Friends of Pivot, New York Times columnist and Squawk Box host Andrew Ross Sorkin calls in for a conversation about Instagram, e-commerce and news models of monetizing content. Learn ...
Feb 11, 2020•42 min•Ep. 80
Kara and Scott talk about technical difficulties at the Iowa caucuses. They disagree about whether Sheryl Sandberg's engagement announcement was a PR stunt or a personal moment. In listener mail they answer a question about One Medical's IPO and other concierge care companies poised to disrupt healthcare. Kara's win is Spotify acquiring The Ringer. Scott's fail is Casper's IPO. In predictions, Scott thinks that in 2-5 years Tesla will come out with its own cryptocurrency. Learn more about your a...
Feb 07, 2020•48 min•Ep. 79
Kara and Scott talk about IBM's new CEO as the company struggles to keep up with cloud computing. They also discuss Zuckerberg's "new approach to social media", and breakdown Amazon's major earnings. In "Friends of Pivot" Jon Lovett, host of the Crooked Media podcast " Lovett or Leave It " says we should be prepared for the Trump campaign's major ad push. In wins and fails, Kara remembers Leila Janah an entrepreneur who focused on creating jobs in the world's poorest communities; she passed away...
Feb 04, 2020•42 min•Ep. 78
Kara and Scott talk about the Congressional Budget Office projecting that the U.S. budget deficit will pass the $1 trillion threshold in 2020. They also get into tech earnings, who did well last quarter, and what we can expect going forward. In listener mail, Kara and Scott talk about Huawei Britain defying Trump's plea to ban their plans for 5G expansion. Kara's win is Michael Bloomberg's ad campaign. Her fail is Facebook's oversight board running late (and not asking her to be a member). Scott...
Jan 31, 2020•47 min•Ep. 77
Kara and Scott talk about the spread of coronavirus and how it is affecting China. They discuss how the story of Kobe Bryant's tragic death played out on Twitter. Also, YouTube is now having their moderators sign a release acknowledging they could get PTSD from doing the work... Kara has thoughts. In listener mail, we get a question about players in the co-working space and how they are strategizing after the fall of weWork. It's definitely a FAIL that Kara did not get invited to Jeff Bezos' man...
Jan 28, 2020•40 min•Ep. 76
Scott co-hosts with Erica Anderson (Pivot's indomitable Executive Producer!) and they talk about the Saudi's hacking Jeff Bezos' phone. They talk about how Amazon has the power of its own nation and the implications of that. They talk Apple encryption part II, after a Reuters story revealed that the company had ended its plan to encrypt the iCloud at the request of the FBI. In listener mail, a former NYU student wants to know how Jeff Bezos' promised $1 billion investment in India will affect th...
Jan 24, 2020•46 min•Ep. 75
Kara talk about Google becoming the world's fourth trillion-dollar company ... and who is actually paying taxes on all of it? They discuss world leaders congregating at Davos. Donald Trump will be speaking as the Senate impeachment trial starts. In Friend of Pivot, Executive Producer and founder of " The Black List ", Franklin Leonard says that with the influx of big tech companies producing films there is greater opportunity for a "full embrace of the country's diversity", even though the Oscar...
Jan 21, 2020•41 min•Ep. 74
Kara and Scott argue about whether the government should have the right to hack into phones of suspected criminals. In a reversal of strategy the historically secretive National Security Agency alerted Microsoft to a vulnerability in its operating system -- Scott think it's a brilliant branding move. In listener mail, Kara and Scott answer a computer science student's question about how to teach ethics to young engineers. Kara's win this week is Speaker Pelosi. Her fail is some of the world's bi...
Jan 17, 2020•44 min•Ep. 73
Kara and Scott talk about Casper's S-1 and how it compares to other internet retail companies like Away and Warby Parker. We also get a rant out of Scott on Softbank's latest fail: their hotel chain OYO let-go a huge percent of their staff in Asia. In Friend of Pivot we hear from New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi about whether Congress or Twitter has more power to reign in Trump. In wins and fails Kara and Scott talk about the exit of Alphabet's top lawyer amid sexual misconduct allegation...
Jan 14, 2020•39 min•Ep. 72
Kara and Scott talk about Facebook's decision not to change their political ad policies. They also discuss Facebook banning "deep fakes" and Teen Vogue's confusion over a Facebook sponsored content article. Kara has a rant for Facebook VP, Andrew Bosworth, about his Lord of the Rings reference and op-ed. In Listener Mail we hear from an Australian asking about big tech's response to natural disasters such as the on-going fires in his country. Overall CES is a fail, but inviting Ivanka Trump to s...
Jan 10, 2020•44 min•Ep. 71
Kara and Scott talk about how Trump has been escalating US conflict with Iran on Twitter. They also discuss how politics were downplayed at the Golden Globes, but big tech took a lot of snark -- especially from our favorite rebel Sascha Baron Cohen. Kara's win is Richard Plepler, the former CEO/Chairman of HBO moving his production company to Apple. In fails, it turns out that New York City offered Amazon even more incentives for HQ2 than previously reported. Plus Kara and Scott give us some "ma...
Jan 07, 2020•30 min•Ep. 70
Kara and Scott are back to talk about a suite of new regulations in California that will give consumers agency over their data and gig workers more protection. They also talk about Tesla's big stock spike. In fails, Sharon Stone was kicked off the Bumble dating app. And Kara brings some optimistic predictions to the show -- she thinks handheld phone devices will be a thing of the past by 2030. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jan 03, 2020•50 min•Ep. 69
Kara and Scott look back at the 2010s and the biggest stories of the decade with the help of some friends. With cameos from Colorado Senator Michael Bennett , Girls Who Code Founder/CEO Reshma Saujani , and Former HBO CEO/Chairman Richard Plepler, they break down the moments in tech, leadership, politics and media that defined the time. Plus Kara and Scott reflect on some of their own personal growth over the past ten years -- with their parents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...
Dec 27, 2019•51 min•Ep. 68
Kara and Scott talk about what impeachment might mean for business. Also they talk about Peter Thiel's influence behind the scenes at Facebook and their political ad policies. Meanwhile, SoftBank is on an on-going disaster. A personal win for Kara is Amazon banning third-party sellers from using FedEx (after her recent tweet-storm). Which brings Scott to predict that FedEx will get acquired in the next couple of years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Dec 20, 2019•45 min•Ep. 67
Kara and Scott talk about the "Phase One" trade agreement between the US and China and what it means for big tech. It's the anniversary of the tragic Sandy Hook shooting and Kara and Scott talk about how tech could mitigate gun violence and how people are buying "ghost guns" online. In listener mail, we get a question about whether Amazon will buy rights to stream NFL games when their contracts with major networks end in 2022. In predictions, Scott says we'll hear more about Apple's relationship...
Dec 17, 2019•43 min•Ep. 66
Kara and Scott talk about Congress' hearing on regulating end-to-end encryption on messaging apps. They discussJack Dorsey's tweet storm about building a small internal open source team. We get updates on leadership at Away. In Friend of Pivot, we hear from legendary fashion and media icon Joanna Coles on what Amazon wants out of the fashion industry. Scott's win is the Silicon Valley finale. Kara's fail are people like AG Bill Barr who continue to protect Trump. In predictions, Scott thinks we'...
Dec 13, 2019•50 min•Ep. 65
Kara and Scott talk about a letter Scott wrote to the board about concerns at Twitter. They discuss Uber's data report on sexual assault that occurred in their rides. In fails, Kara and Scott get into a new story about the brutal culture at Away. Aviation gin's "sequel" to the Peloton ad is everybody's win! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 10, 2019•46 min•Ep. 64
Kara and Scott talk about leaderships shifts at Google -- Larry and Sergey are out and Sundar Pichai is in. In Friend of Pivot we hear from French lawyer, Dan Shefet about France's newly approved "digital service tax". Also, Pelosi announced that Section 230 won't carry over into trade deals with Mexico and Canada. Kamala Harris is the winner this week -- she may not be president in 2020, but Scott's predicting she'll be someone's VEEP. In fails Scott rants about Elon Musk and his defense of a d...
Dec 06, 2019•41 min•Ep. 63
Welcome to Pivot 2x! Our first twice weekly episode. Kara and Scott talk about the future of Twitter as Jack Dorsey announces he's off to live in Africa. They discuss the streaming wars and how movies fared on on platform versus in movie theaters. In listener mail they talk about the failures of logistics companies (specifically FedEx). Prediction: Twitter loses value next year and an activist investor steps in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Dec 03, 2019•36 min•Ep. 63
Kara and Scott talk about Uber getting kicked out of its biggest EU market, London. They parse out the ad, media and digital strategy of Michael Bloomberg in his quest for the White House. In Friend of Pivot, Kara and Scott have different takes on Google's recent firings of 4 employee labor organizers. In wins, Pivot welcomes Sacha Baron Cohen to the resistance for his speech about regulating social media platforms. Kara thinks Mark Zuckerberg failed this year in his "personal challenge" to have...
Nov 29, 2019•44 min•Ep. 62
Kara and Scott talk about how Apple CEO Tim Cook, let Trump get away with lying about being responsible for building a 2013 factory. They also talk about how a Facebook executive says the company wants the government to regulate political ads. Also, Scott thinks HBO Max is making a big mistake by diluting its brand and bundling non-prestige television. Friend of Pivot, Arielle Duhaime-Ross, the host of Reset comes on the show to ask Kara and Scott about "sharenting" and how they decide to share ...
Nov 22, 2019•49 min•Ep. 61
Kara and Scott talk about all the Silicon Valley companies rolling out credit cards and checking accounts. Google is also partnering with a Catholic non-profit that has clinics and hospitals around the country. In that new project called 'Nightingale', Google will collect patient data in its cloud computing and use AI to give treatment recommendations. We're skeptical. In Listener Mail, Kara and Scott ask a question about the rivalry between Ali Baba and Amazon, as Ali Baba makes a secondary off...
Nov 15, 2019•44 min•Ep. 60
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 the 2020 election, a new progressive PAC is trying to beat Donald Trump in the digital ad space. Kara and Scott agree it's a drop in the bucket. Scott bids a farewell to his presidential hopeful and "dreamy man crush" Beto. Kara's win is Airbnb's transparent handling of a ...
Nov 08, 2019•45 min•Ep. 59
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, HBOMax is joining and sweeping up all the content. How will net neutrality affect the streaming wars? In listener mail, we dig into a new bill introduced in Congress that would force big social media platforms to loosen their hold on user data. Learn...
Nov 01, 2019•42 min•Ep. 58
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 Scott wrong and came out with some really big earnings this week. We also hear from Senior Recode reporter, Peter Kafka about what to expect from the streaming wars as Apple debuts its own platform. Winners are the women of Congress, who absolutely skewered Mark Zuckerberg in...
Oct 25, 2019•43 min•Ep. 63
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 speech functions at Facebook. They get into Amazon's foray into the healthcare sector. They take questions from the audience on the Canadian elections, weWork and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Oct 23, 2019•59 min•Ep. 57
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. They talk about Bill Gates' ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Win: Elizabeth Warren intentionally submitted a Facebook political ad with false information on it to show the platform's failures. Fail: the crumbling of Facebook's cryptocurrency, Libra. Learn more about your ad choic...
Oct 18, 2019•38 min•Ep. 56
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 smart cities. They're concerned with the Turkish president's use of Twitter to announce an invasion of Syria. A win is Andrew Yang's $10-million boost in Q3. And Kara comes with her own prediction this week, that Michael Bloomberg is going to jump into the pres...
Oct 11, 2019•42 min•Ep. 55
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 about why WeWork CEO Adam Neumann may have to go into the Unicorn Protection Program and why the company’s canceled IPO is a victory for the public markets. Plus: Kara dares Twitter to take responsibility for President Trump’s Tweets, and The B...
Oct 04, 2019•46 min•Ep. 54
