On with Kara Swisher – Detailed Episode Summary

Episode: Scott Galloway: How to Hit Trump Where it Hurts (Unsubscribe)
Published: February 16, 2026
Host: Kara Swisher
Guest: Scott Galloway

Episode Overview

Kara Swisher hosts marketing professor, writer, and Pivot co-host Scott Galloway to discuss his new "Resist and Unsubscribe" movement. The initiative aims to empower consumers to push back against companies enabling Trump and controversial government actions, particularly those supporting ICE, by unsubscribing from their products and services. The episode explores the mechanics, motivations, potential impact, and personal dilemmas involved in such economic protest—and whether hitting companies’ bottom lines can trigger change at the highest levels.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis and Mechanics of “Resist and Unsubscribe”

• Concept: Encourage individuals to unsubscribe from major tech and service platforms as a form of protest.
• Goal: Undermine the market cap of companies aligning with, or enabling, Trump through economic pressure, prompting CEOs to pressure Trump in turn.
• Scott’s Logic: “I've struggled my entire career with the difference between being right and being effective.” (04:36)
• Market reactions to slight changes in subscriber growth are dramatic. For example, “T Mobile was supposed to sign up 992,000 new subscribers. They announced 962 and their stock was off $12 billion in the after hours.” (05:19)
• Strategy: Redirect from traditional protest toward coordinated economic action— “the weapon hiding in plain sight.” (06:14)

2. Protest Effectiveness: Lessons from History

• Economic Protests: The Montgomery bus boycott and recent Disney-Kimmel incidents highlighted the need for sustained, economically focused protest to force change. “It needs to be a sustained build. It does need to be economic. And it's also about media highlighting it…” (07:57)

3. The Subscription Economy as a Pressure Point

• Subscription revenue is critical for large tech firms, making them vulnerable:
  • “Ground zero” companies are hyper-sensitive to small drops in subscription growth (13:00–14:30)
  • “Blast zone” companies symbolize direct complicity but have less economic leverage.
• Personal finance as activism: People are often surprised by how many recurring subscriptions they have and the impact of collectively canceling them. “When I unsubscribe from Amazon Prime, I found out that I was still a member of Amazon One…” (15:59)
• Using AI, Scott estimates the movement’s reach and financial impact: “The average number of platforms people are unsubscribing from is 2 to 3…” (22:17)

4. Moral Complexity & Limitations

• Impossible purity: Both Scott and Kara admit they can’t fully divest from problematic platforms. “I don't have total moral clarity around this. I'm still. I'm not giving up my iPhone.” (15:00)
• The aim is not perfect virtue but meaningful reduction and sending a signal.

5. Building and Sustaining Momentum

• The campaign’s growth: Over half a million unique site visitors and 18 million social views so far.
• The viral ingredient: “I think the only way this sustains, Kara, is if enough people decide to do it themselves and then communicate their actions on social…” (25:47)
• Scott admits to his aversion to organizing with activist groups but acknowledges the need for allies. (26:07–26:47)

6. The Broader Goal: Economic Protest with Minimal Sacrifice

• The movement is framed as an accessible alternative to street protest:
  • “Canceling ChatGPT and going to the free one relative to the impact you’re having on OpenAI... is an enormous ROI relative to the consumer friction there.” (28:03)

7. Endgame and Personal Responsibility

• Scott’s long-term vision: Curtail expansion of state power, notably ICE, via business pressure. Short term: “I want tens of millions of Americans to think, what can I do? …Or I can take just $10,000 out of the market cap of OpenAI in about 20 seconds.” (28:37–29:48)
• On public criticism: Both left and right ‘rage-bait’ media tactics are denounced.
• Scott’s view on big tech CEOs and business leaders: Despite respect, he decries their lack of courage and moral leadership. “I want credit for being a leader without actually being a leader, is how I would describe Tim Cook.” (10:48)
• The wealthy have fewer excuses not to act: “That's the whole point of wealth… to give you more opportunities to be a good person.” (34:14–36:17)

8. On Action, Anxiety and Agency

• Scott’s core motivational advice:
  • “Action absorbs anxiety.” (41:45)
  • “The difference between you and action and greatness and relevance is your fear of public failure… The risk of public failure is a curb that's 2 inches tall. It doesn't matter. We're all going to be dead soon.” (44:04)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Scott, on the power of economic protest:
  “If we can slow the rates of growth of subscriptions to big tech, you are going to see a massive hit to their market capitalization.” (05:19)
• On the dilemma of personal sacrifice:
  “I'm not giving up my iPhone.” (15:00),
  “I'm not willing to move to Ted Kaczynski's old shed in the forest and have a ham radio.” (20:39)
• On activism and organizing:
  “At my age, I don't want to get on the phone with a bunch of people in Birkenstocks arguing over which company should be on the list or not.” (26:07)
• On action and anxiety:
  “Action absorbs anxiety… If you're as upset as I am about what is going on… it feels really good to do something.” (41:45–43:10)
• On wealth and obligation:
  “Ideally in a capitalist society, it gives you fewer excuses to not be a good person and gives you more opportunities.” (36:14)
• On collective power:
  “Wars are fought one battle at a time… if you have 10,000 cuts, you have an impact.” (23:10)

Important Section Timestamps

• Scott explains “Resist and Unsubscribe” and its origins: 04:36–08:10
• Historical context and protest impact: 07:15–08:10
• Subscription math and market cap impact: 13:00–15:14, 22:17–23:41
• Debate over personal divestment and moral purity: 15:00–16:43
• Family, personal impact, and real-life examples: 20:08–21:13
• Describing momentum, viral spread, and media’s role: 24:48–25:47
• Scott’s reluctance toward activist group organizing: 26:07–26:47
• Motivational advice—action versus anxiety: 41:45–44:21
• Reflections on business leaders, wealth, and responsibility: 34:14–36:17

Takeaways for Listeners

• Resist and Unsubscribe offers a direct, scalable way for individuals to protest the political influence of big tech and corporate America with real-world consequences.
• Even small economic actions, amplified collectively and communicated socially, ripple up to boardrooms and potentially to the White House.
• The campaign is accessible: unsubscribing from a few unnecessary or objectionable services can be both a protest and money-saver.
• Moral purity is impossible; the objective is progress, not perfection.
• Action—however incremental—redresses feelings of helplessness and can inspire others.
• Sustaining the momentum requires allyship, virality, and people sharing their choices publicly.

For more, visit resistantunsubscribe.com and decide what actions might make sense for you.