SpaceX IPO: Markets, Morals, and What It Means for You

Summary

Pivot Podcast Summary

Episode Title: SpaceX IPO: Markets, Morals, and What It Means for You
Date: June 12, 2026
Hosts: Kara Swisher, Scott Galloway
Special Guest: Stephanie Ruhle (Anchor, "Money, Power, Politics")

Overview

In this high-energy episode, Kara, Scott, and guest Stephanie Ruhle break down the highly anticipated SpaceX IPO—the first $1.7 trillion listing in history. They dissect the unprecedented market mechanics propping up the price, Musk’s growing unchecked influence, and what retail investors should really expect. The show also navigates Musk’s political entanglements, OpenAI’s looming IPO, inflation and economic fragility, latest Hollywood merger drama, and global social media crackdowns for teens.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. SpaceX IPO: More Than Just Rockets (07:38–19:55)

- The Musk Bet

• Stephanie Ruhle (08:54):

  "People who are in, who are buying, who are investing, people who are participating in the IPO, they're not buying SpaceX. You're betting on Elon Musk. You are buying Elon Musk."

• Stephanie emphasizes the IPO is all about Musk’s unprecedented control, not traditional fundamentals.
• Kara highlights how the offering makes Musk the world’s first trillionaire and thousands of employees rich.

- Ethics and Influence

• Stephanie lists Musk's outsized influence:
  • Starlink's war impact
  • Buying social media to "control information"
  • Political donations and leveraging government contracts (1/5 of revenue).
• She notes a moral vacuum among underwriters: “Do we not have one shred of a moral compass here? And the answer is that we don't.” (09:32)

- Manufactured Scarcity & Index Gaming

• Scott Galloway (11:31):

  "You have what is, in my opinion, the greatest degree of manufactured scarcity ever in an IPO. And this is about to be the transfer of wealth from retail investors since crypto 100%."

• He details how SpaceX was waived into the NASDAQ 100, making fund managers forced buyers for a stock with only 5% public float, driving demand massively higher.

- Embedded Power & Politics

• Stephanie likens government contracts as “a tick biting you... the tick bites, all the tentacles pop out and it doesn't come back out.” (13:35)
• Kara and Stephanie discuss Democratic criticisms but agree meaningful regulatory or market change is unlikely (“How many years have we talked about social media regulation…?” 14:28).

2. IPO Predictions & Market Dynamics (15:44–19:55)

- The Pop, The Trough, The Cult

• Stephanie predicts an initial price surge due to hype, followed by a slump, then a longer-term rally, with many retail investors simply wanting to "bet on Musk."
• Scott adds enthusiasm for AI has nosedived, but cult-like belief in Musk drives demand:

  "This is a cult, not a company." (16:49)

• He highlights the “ridiculous money furnace” attached: XAI, bundled with Starlink, and massive manufactured scarcity as key IPO levers.

- Professional Investors Know the Game

• Both Scott and Stephanie agree that many investors see the flaws, but buy anyway because “the stock is going to go up”—illustrating systemic moral bankruptcy.

- On Economic Boycotts

• Listener Q (19:55): Would a collective funds divestment communicate disapproval?
• Stephanie: “Yes, it would make a difference. … The only place you hit them where it hurts, is an economic boycott.” (20:14)
• Scott: “People will opt for their economic security... No one says at a funeral, you know this guy didn't participate in the SpaceX IPO because he had real integrity.” (20:57)

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3. The Coming AI IPO Boom (21:17–22:58)

• OpenAI and Anthropic also move towards their own IPOs as the market becomes "fragile" and increasingly top-heavy.
  • Stephanie: “You don't want to be the last one to IPO.” (21:59)
• Scott: “If SpaceX holds up, OpenAI and Anthropic are going to look like value stocks compared to SpaceX.” (22:21)

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4. Economic Troubles: Inflation and Wealth Gap (22:58–27:35)

- Inflation’s Political Shrapnel

• With US inflation hitting 4.2%, Scott puts it in stark terms:

  "4.2% doesn't sound like a lot... that means the tuition to NYU at $62,000, if you have a baby today, when the kid is ready for college, it's now $125,000." (25:04)

• Stephanie: “For every Republican running that soundbite of the President saying inflation's great, that hurts.” (24:41)
• Scott: "Inflation is yet again another transfer of wealth from non-asset owners who are earners to the asset owners." (26:50)
• Stephanie: “Donald Trump saying I like inflation is fueling the eat the rich sentiment, not the mayor of New York.” (26:50)

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5. Hollywood, Streaming, and Mergers (46:55–50:28)

• Paramount accuses Netflix of sabotaging its merger deal with Warner Brothers; Scott doubts this, calling out Hollywood's dysfunction and real looming pain due to debt and poor management.
• Kara: “Netflix is just going to wait and buy it when they fuck it up.” (47:11)
• Scott expects the deal to close—regulators will extract symbolic concessions, but the industry's pain will be post-merger.

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6. Social Media Teen Bans: Global Momentum (52:32–57:58)

• Canada and UK move to restrict social media for under 16s, while the US position is “parental empowerment over government mandates.”
• Scott: “I think one of the greatest threats to our society is that we're evolving a new species of asocial, asexual males...part of the problem is just as their brain is getting wired through puberty, you're teaching them to have constant visual stimulation and be staring at a stranger.” (52:32–54:05)
• Kara counters the “kids will find a way” argument:

  “It says something about your society that you care enough. And it isn't mandating, it's just saying, like, as with cigarettes, as with drinking, we shall, our teens shall not do this.” (55:02)

• Both agree regulation matters as society’s statement of values, even if imperfect.

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Notable Quotes

• Stephanie Ruhle (08:54): "You're not buying SpaceX. You're buying Elon Musk."
• Scott Galloway (11:31): "The greatest degree of manufactured scarcity ever in an IPO...the transfer of wealth from retail investors since crypto."
• Kara Swisher (18:46): "They're creating false markets."
• Scott Galloway (20:57): "No one says at a funeral, you know this guy didn't participate in the SpaceX IPO because he had real integrity."
• Stephanie Ruhle (26:50): "Donald Trump saying I like inflation is fueling the eat the rich sentiment, not the mayor of New York."
• Kara Swisher (47:11): “Netflix is just going to wait and buy it when they fuck it up.”
• Scott Galloway (52:32): “One of the greatest threats to our society is that we're evolving a new species of asocial, asexual males.”
• Kara Swisher (55:02): “It says something about your society that you care enough.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamps | |------------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Knicks banter, pop culture intro | 01:41–07:00 | | SpaceX IPO roundtable (with Stephanie Ruhle) | 07:38–19:55 | | AI IPO context and market risks | 21:17–22:58 | | Inflation, costs, and "eat the rich" politics | 22:58–27:35 | | Hollywood mergers and Paramount vs. Netflix | 46:55–50:28 | | Social media youth bans and regulatory debate | 52:32–57:58 | | Closing predictions and morality in markets | 62:00–66:07 |

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Memorable Moments & Banter

• The episode is punctuated by classic Kara and Scott quips—e.g., Kara’s sports ignorance (“Tipped a ball into the thing”), Scott’s “slide into my DMs” running joke, and their mutual pokes at each other’s parenting.
• A notable pop culture aside: Taylor Swift “saving” the Knicks and Scooter Braun as karmic undertones (06:16–07:11).

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Tone and Style

True to Pivot’s brand, the tone is sharp, biting, and unapologetically opinionated—hosted wit and snark, but underpinned by deep insider analysis. Stephanie Ruhle brings a caffeinated, finance-world urgency, while Scott and Kara keep the conversation irreverent yet substantial.

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Bottom Line

Pivot’s verdict: The SpaceX IPO isn’t just a market event—it's a referendum on unchecked tech power, regulatory capture, and the ease with which markets disconnect from morals. The show warns retail investors to see through the hype, while painting a wider picture: this is the age of cult CEOs, manufactured scarcity, and markets where integrity almost never pays—but playing the game (cynically) does.

If you’re wondering who wins when SpaceX goes public, the answer is clear: Elon Musk, his inner circle, and the political forces now shaping global capitalism. Everyone else? Buyer beware.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Support for the show comes from Klaviyo. Imagine hiring two brilliant employees. The first takes your marketing from idea to full campaign, email, sms, push in the time it takes to describe it. The second handles every customer conversation 24 by 7. Answering questions, recommending products, handling orders both on brand and always on your next hires. Klaviyo's AI agents get started at klavi o.com whatever your thing, it could be anything. Canva helps you make that thing a thing. Canva is a simple online tool thing. It's a way to design, with our magic AI tool things you can social media your thing, generate images or videos of your thing, make decks or presentations to show your thing, whatever needs to be done for your thing. Canva can make it an even better and bigger thing. Canva, the thing that makes anything a thing.

[A]

By the way, she'd slide into my DMs faster than she'd slide into your DMs.

[C]

That is correct. That is 100% correct.

[A]

Hi everyone, this is Pivot from the Vox Media podcast network. I'm Kara Swisher.

[B]

And I'm Scott Galloway.

[A]

And I'm Scott. The Knicks. Stevie Nicks. Taylor Swift brought back balance to the universe.

[B]

What? What are you talking about?

[A]

I understand. What am I talking about? Were you out like late drinking? You didn't know what happened last night?

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Were you there?

[B]

And it doesn't feel late. I'm out at 4 in the morning and it's still light here. I'm in Stockholm.

[A]

Oh, the Knicks. I'm talking about the New York Knicks.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard about that. Something about a comeback sometime about the greatest comeback in history.

[A]

It was like 20. I'm not even interested in sports and I watch the fucking. Largely because Taylor Swift was in the front row with Mariska Hartigay. You know, the Olivia Benson. And they were hugging all the time and wearing adorable T shirts like Stevie Nicks and Nixelback and stuff. Let me just Say, that was quite a game. And it was quite a shift. What? They were down quite a bit. And at the last minutes, I was like, oh, they can't win. I looked away. I was folding laundry and stuff. And then they came back and then they got ahead and then they got behind. And then the last, like 30 seconds, this guy tipped a ball into the thing and it was crazy.

[B]

Tipped a ball into the thing, into the basket.

[A]

It was crazy. And then Taylor Swift was there, the whole thing. There were a lot of celebrities, but let me just say it's great for SportsCenter. Starring Kara Swisher.

[B]

There you go. There you go.

[A]

It was so good. And then the parties, people watching on the streets.

[B]

Just amazing.

[A]

I love New York. I love New York.

[B]

So I was. I was going to stay, go to the Knicks game, go to Tribeca Film Festival. I had the greatest bunch of meetings. I had the greatest three days planned in New York. And then I freaked out about not seeing my boys fly home. I walk in the door expecting a hero's reception, and I got. What? Do you ever go one of these? They saw me, I walked in and they went like this. They went like. Just a little bit of a nod, a little bit of a head tilt, like, hey, bro. Not even a hey, bro. Just like a non verbal hey, bro.

[A]

And I thought, no.

[B]

And at that moment, I thought, I should be at the Knicks game.

[A]

I know you should be.

[B]

What did I do? What did I do coming home?

[A]

I don't mean to be rude, but I never get that. In fact, I interviewed Mark Marin at the film festival and he's like, yeah, everyone says their kids are great. I'm like, my kids are great. No, I get a big. I came in from a week away. I was in New York doing all manner of nonsense.

[B]

Not me.

[A]

I came home and they ran up and we had big hugs and they lay all over me and we laughed and laughed.

[B]

Nope, not at all.

[A]

Alex is like, come see me. I'm going to Australia with Louis. No, we're. We're. We're tight as ticks. Yeah, that's switch casses.

[B]

Yeah, it's not happening at the Galloway household now.

[A]

I even got a letter so Clara wrote me a letter. She's starting to write.

[B]

Oh, that's nice.

[A]

About missing me. Yeah, it was great.

[B]

Yeah, that's great. Did you know Sweden has not been at war for 200 years? Oh, I think that's why the city

[A]

who at war was Sweden.

[B]

That's why the city is so beautiful. It really helps when you don't like have the largest wealth.

[A]

War II wasn't.

[B]

Not at all. I mean, okay, get this. In Sweden, the GDP in World War II, the GDP of Sweden grew.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

It was.

[A]

Were they switzerlanding it?

[B]

Yeah, they were basically. They were basically trading and making money while everyone else was killing each other.

[A]

Lovely. Interesting. What about World War I? They weren't involved in that.

[B]

They have not been in a war for 200 years.

[A]

So what time is it there? Because it's really bright. Is it like a million o'? Clock?

[B]

No, it's. It's almost midday. It's 5:10pm I'm not exaggerating. It's light out until. Until late 3 or 4am Yeah, 3am

[A]

and then it gets like kind of darkish, right?

[B]

Yeah, it never really gets dark. It feels like it's dusk or dawn from like 11pm till 5am I even

[A]

not like that when I was there. So how is it going? How's it going with the Swedes?

[B]

It's good. I'm at this thing called Brilliant Minds.

[A]

Yeah, I told you I'd been there and.

[B]

Yeah, I've never been. Yeah, it's my first one. For me, it's about Stockholm. I've been walking around a lot. It's really nice.

[A]

There's a lot of reindeer.

[B]

I had not known that, although I had that. Literally the toughest meat in the world I had. Last night. I needed a chainsaw. Maybe it was reindeer.

[A]

Could have been reindeer.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. And Sweden, they were the first country in the world to have a negative central bank interest rate where you had to pay money for them to hold onto your money.

[A]

Well, I'm glad you're there, but let me just go back to Taylor Swift very quickly.

[B]

Here we go.

[A]

She brought balance to the universe along with these ladies. They were dancing, they were being fans. They were. And what was my favorite part of many of the parts of it, like there were so many, was that the guy that Scooter Braun was sitting with his girlfriend Sydney Sweeney, way back behind her, who stole all her songs. Well, he bought them and he fucked with her. And she was sitting down front and having the time of her fucking life. But it was kind of an interesting karma thing, right, that he was there. He falls asleep. He looks totally uninterested in the game. They lose. She's there courtside, screaming her ass off like a normal fan. And she's gone to Nick's games for years and years and they win and they win in a clutch and they come back. It just felt right.

[B]

Yeah. If karma is a real thing, it means that Scooter Braun has been the nicest person in the world up until now. I don't care about any of this. Except who's sleeping with Sydney Sweeney?

[A]

Well, he is. I think they're getting married. Yeah, that's what. Anyway. All right, we have a lot to get to today. As we tape on Thursday, SpaceX is less than 24 hours out from its stock market debut. And we've got a special guest here to help us break it down. Let's bring in Stephanie Ruhl, anchor of the new Ms. Now show Money Power Politics. At 9:00am, she's moving from nighttime, the dark of nighttime on MSNow to morning. Welcome, Stephanie.

[C]

Thank you so much for having me.

[A]

As we tape on Thursday, SpaceX is less than 24 hours out from its stock market debut. The company is set set its price at $135 a share, valuing the company at 1.77 trillion. SpaceX IPO will likely make Elon Musk the first trillionaire in the world ever and make over 4,000 current and former SpaceX employees millionaires. But if all of the ipoing isn't enough to keep Elon Musk busy, has taken X to involve himself in very terrible anti immigration riots in Northern Ireland, saying only by protesting repeatedly and loudly would there be any change. He's supporting a lot of really heinous people there. In response to criticism Musk posted murderous migrants beheading innocent people in their hometown is what's making people angry, not social media. So he's making terrible trouble and the British government has responded quite a bit to his involvement. He's been meddling over there for quite a while now. So first, let's talk about the ipo. Scott had really great analysis of it and a lot of people like Aswath at NYU and others are like, this price is ridiculous and at the same time it'll probably jump up and then jump down, essentially. So give us your headline of the SpaceX IPO.

[C]

People who are in, who are buying, who are investing, people who are participating in the IPO, they're not buying SpaceX. You're betting on Elon Musk. You are buying Elon Musk. The amount of control he has over this company is unprecedented. And I'm not saying people should or they shouldn't, but that's who they're betting on. And it's extraordinary to me because even think about what you just mentioned with where he's taken to X and with regard to the protests In Ireland, we haven't heard one word from the underwriters of, like, are we okay with this? Do you remember it was five or six years ago when it's sort of like at the height of MeToo, when Goldman had the big proclamation of, like, we're only gonna be doing deals with, you know, with companies that are. Have a commitment to diversity, and, you know, that's the most. And I'm like, where? Like, do we not have one shred of a moral compass here? And the answer is that we don't. No one is mentioning this. And when you think about how wealthy he's about to become, and I'm not insulting it or complimenting it, I'm just saying, I just want people to realize this is a person who directly impacts what's happening in a war by pulling Starlink. This is a person who wants to control information so he buys a social media platform. This is a person who realized through Donald Trump, he can invest in candidates, and by investing in candidates, get whatever he wants. Like, the reason I think we're now going, we are seeing an unprecedented amount of money, money going into these elections is because Elon Musk and Donald Trump prove that it works, right? You're not just getting a little bit of influence. 1/5 of SpaceX's revenue, it says it right in the prospectus, comes from government contracts. And so we could all say, this is hanky. This isn't how capitalism works. This isn't how democracy should work, or free markets. But for the investment community is saying, in my opinion, if you can't beat them, join them. I'm here for the. I'm here for the money.

[A]

Here for the dough. Scott.

[B]

I like Stephanie's take that. It's the boring stuff that moves the needle.

[C]

Sorry, what'd you say? I couldn't hear you.

[B]

I like stuff. I like. My good friend Stephanie's thick, by the way. Slip into my DMs if you ever decide that, you know you've had it, you've just had it. You know how to reach me. You know how to reach me. Anyway, sorry, where are we? Gross.

[C]

Slide into my DMs.

[B]

Slide into my DMs.

[A]

By the way, she'd slide into my DMs faster than she'd slide into my DMs.

[C]

That is correct. That is 100% correct.

[A]

There is a choice.

[B]

I think that's true of most of our guests.

[C]

Yes, yes.

[A]

Anyways, move along and take her seriously. Her thoughts, her deep thoughts on the

[B]

situation with Musk, the Thing that's not getting enough reporting is that essentially Musk's ability to lean on Trump, who then called Paul Atkins and said, make the wave. All previous rules and include this company in the NASDAQ 100 is going to create 30 to $50 billion in additional demand for a company with a float of 100 billion. So to use an analogy, imagine on any given week, there's 100,000 people looking for homes in San Francisco and that creates a certain price discovery and certain pricing for housing. Imagine if all of a sudden, same number of houses for sale, there's 150,000 buyers. So when you look at the incremental demand of 30 to 50 billion dollars is what I've calculated from things like QQQ and MSCI indices that are now forced to buy a company that might be 4 to 6% of the index, meaning that 4 to 6% of their capital under management has to be used to buy SpaceX stock, despite the fact, again, in a violation of pre existing rules that has been waived, only has 5% of its float out. You have what is, in my opinion the greatest degree of manufactured scarcity ever in an ipo. And this is about to be the transfer of wealth from retail investors since crypto 100%.

[C]

And, and Kara, just add into that what you originally said about who Elon Musk is. Like, go back to Ireland. Like, we're not just making the. Like we're not just making a person, a company this extraordinarily powerful. It's this person, who he is, what he's done, what he stands for. That's sort of the thing that I want to sort of underline and highlight.

[A]

Doge, he just skated. Skated around. Doge, he skated around. And this will give him an ability to skate around everything, right?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Unless it goes up and down. Right. Because he's not always been. He wasn't successful in Wisconsin, for example. His brand has gone to hell. You know, nobody's buying Teslas. There are implications, but this gives him another life. Sort of a Lex Luthor just got another. The cat got another life. Essentially.

[C]

Yes, there's implications, but when you think about the stronghold that they have over the government, think about the amount of government contracts when you say, even if things go down, like once you are embedded in the government with these government contracts, it's like a tick biting you. Right? Like you don't just get a tick bite and pull it out, the tick bites, all the tentacles pop out and it doesn't come back out. So when people Even say, listen, when we have a different administration and they see things differently, a lot of these things are going to pull back out once you're this entangled in the government. It doesn't work that way. He's in.

[A]

Well, what if the Democrats get in? Is he in there? Certainly. You know, Elizabeth Warren is, of course, is always speaking up. She's like, look, this is not a good thing to. She's gonna, he's gonna hurt retirees. That's one of her things. She has a number of them. You have Bernie Sanders wanting a chunk of companies like his and other, like an OpenAI or whatever.

[C]

Do I think things are gonna change? Kara, how many years have we talked about closing the carried interest loophole? How many years have we talked about banning or limiting or adjusting Congressional stock trading for a zillion years? How many years have we talked about social media regulation and when Democrats had control? Sure, but I just think once you're embedded in the government, look at the case of Michael Dell. Okay, Michael Dell, glad he did donate $6 billion to the Trump baby accounts. Super duper Trump then says everybody should go out there and buy a Dell. The stock goes up, Trump buys the stock, and then Michael dell gets a 9 and a half billion dollar government contract. I'll bet my bottom dollar that come December, if Democrats take control, I don't think that government contract's getting canceled, do you?

[A]

No, no, no. But is there any price to pay for this kind of stuff?

[C]

Well, there should be a price to pay because Democrats should be focused on two things as it relates to the midterms, affordability and accountability. If those are the two things that they can nail a message and a plan for, then they actually have a chance to take control here.

[A]

So what, what, what is going to happen with this ipo? How does it go? You've been, you've worked in this sector talk. Scott's talked, he thinks it a pop, then down and then a trough. You've seen all these charts, then a trough for a while and then it'll start to go up so that people say buy at the trough.

[C]

Listen, there's so much excitement, there's so much enthusiasm. I mean, I just saw something the other day with Jamie Dimon talking this up and they're not even the lead underwriter on this. Like there's just so, and listen, there's just so many people who are like Elon Musk, the guy who controls the world. I don't know, let's bet on him. Like, people just want in and especially as you can take remember when at the height of COVID when Trump the control, Elon Musk had the time like how he basically created meme stocks, right? Elon Musk, we're taking it to the moon and people were all in. And I think nerds like us are reading all 22,000 words of a prospectus. But there's scores of people out there who are just like I just want in. Even if it's for a minute.

[A]

Now, Scott, can you note you had noticed a vibe shift though, right? It feels. And then another friend of mine said but they got a call from their broker to get into it now, which is a. That they thought was a bad sign is like a. It wasn't an email and they were way down on the list. Scott was talking. Scott, explain your feeling that the vibe is off.

[B]

I think there's just been a tangible shift in vibe against AI. AI has gone from 75% approval to 25% and I do think that there's some wobbliness in the markets about maybe this, the economics that the technology will survive, but it's the valuations may not. Having said that, SpaceX is, I mean Stephanie's right, there's just a lot of people, this is a cult, not a company that will invest in anything that Musk puts forward. And to be fair, even companies that made no sense from a bottoms of valuation standpoint, he still figured out a way to show return to those investors who were willing to hold on to a mediocre automobile company that was trading like a software stock. So a lot of people, you know the cult, a lot of people think that the decline in bitcoin price is because people, that same kind of person is selling their bitcoin to be in, be in, be in this company. But basically what you have just to remind everybody, you have a great company with great malts, that's a rocket company. The company that makes all the money is basically Comcast and Space, it's Starlink. And then you have this ridiculous money furnace attached to it called Xai and it's going out at 100 times revenues. But right now, just back to the prediction care. I'm now convinced it's not only going to pop out of the gates, it'll close first day up. Because I think some of the brightest minds in the history of finance with government control and the SEC on board have created a way to just pull off so much manufactured scarcity you're not allowed to go public unless you issue at least 10% of the firm shares they got a waiver to say, oh, only 5%. So. So just look at it this way. Demand is the velocity of the water coming out of the hose supply. If you can constrict supply, you constrict the circumference of the nozzle. They are constricting the nozzle such that the velocity of the price here is going to be extreme to the upside.

[A]

That's what they're creating. They're creating false markets.

[C]

And, Kara, professional investors know this. So while Scott can be telling all of this as a warning or a problem, and we should be concerned, even if professional investors fundamentally agree with Scott, and I'm sure they do, they're also saying, yeah, but guess what? It means the stock is going to go up. Right, and buy a stock. Yeah, buying a stock doesn't mean you're buying a house and you're locked into it for the next four years. And remember when Trump won and Doge was created, all three of us and scores of other people called Elon Musk a shadow president. And while he might not be sleeping on Stephen Miller's couch anymore and going into government agencies with a chainsaw, he still has an enormous, maybe even more influence over the government. We just don't see him walking into the Oval Office with his son on his shoulders. And people know that. And when he's got that much influence over the government, or I'm not gonna go as far as to say Trump in his pocket, but Trump, at least you know on his shoulder, that for many people, while it might not be the right thing morally, is going to be the right thing financially. And that's what the markets are about.

[A]

Okay, let's listen to one more SpaceX question we got from a listener. Hollywood, what do you think about collective divestment of funds that automatically include SpaceX stock? Would that sufficiently communicate that a lot of people are not okay with the

[B]

changes that allowed this to happen?

[A]

First you, Stephanie, and then you, Scott.

[C]

Yes, it would make a difference. Listen, any sort of economic boycott, and we've all talked about that for the only place you hit them where it hurts, is an economic boycott. Like, you can have the worst stories, you can have the worst headlines. You can drag all these guys to DC and have hearing where Katie Porter pulls out a whiteboard and says, you're naughty, naughty, naughty. They don't care. They get on their plane and they go home. But if they're. When and if there are significant economic boycotts, then they have no choice but to respond. I just don't know if we're ever gonna see something like that, right. When we talk so much about, you know, Bezos and Amazon and as people are saying like I hate it or I hate those social media companies, they're saying it while they're scrolling through Instagram and then ordering Amazon packages.

[B]

Scott, people will opt for their economic security and if they think they can get 10 or 20% in a one or two hour trade, they know this is overvalued. They know that the game is being rigged here and they will take the allocation to get their 10 or 20%. No one says at a funeral, you know this guy didn't participate in the SpaceX IPO because he had real integrity.

[A]

Right? That's true. That's a. Well, they'll say that at mine. OpenAI has filed for an IPO. The company has not yet decided on timing, saying in a statement it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier for a private company. I don't know what that is like, what orgies, I don't know. OpenAI has last. No, no.

[C]

But in their defense, there's a lot you have to do. Explain, account for when you go public. It's not easy.

[A]

OpenAI was last valued at $852 billion. The filing comes shortly after rival Anthropics. Which of the three are you betting on and how worried you about the concentration of so much market value in just a few companies as the. Does it make the entire. Scott has been talking about how the entire market is fragile.

[C]

The entire market is fragile. And I think the name of the game for all of them honestly is to be. You don't want to be the last one to ipo. Right. There is this huge appetite for AI. Everybody's so excited, but there's so much and there's potentially so much overdevelopment. I think you just don't want to. Of all of them. You just don't want to be the last one when you've exhausted the market

[A]

and it's already exhausted.

[B]

No one is rooting for this IPO more than Elon Musk, other than Sam Altman. This sets the tone for the next couple IPOs. If this comes out really strong, these guys are going to be able to come out and say, look at our numbers versus SpaceX and you were willing to buy in at 100 times. OpenAI and Anthropic are going to look like value stocks compared to SpaceX. If SpaceX holds up.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. If it holds up. If there's enough Money.

[C]

And in the case of OpenAI and anthropic, especially as it relates to a retail investor, those are companies that people actually could say they know and they see more than they do. SpaceX.

[A]

That's a good point. All right, one last thing. Inflation was up 4.2% annually in May, the highest in three years. Much of the surge came from the increase in oil prices, obviously, which have risen 35% in the months since US and Israel attacked Iran. But fear not, President Trump is feeling optimistic about the situation.

[C]

He likes it.

[A]

Let's listen to a clip. What are you concerned, Mr. President, about

[B]

the latest inflation number which came out this morning. Could that be a no? I love it. The numbers were great. You know what I really love?

[A]

I love the inflation. Okay, how, how much does he love inflation? Both of you first, first you, Stephanie. How much would it rise before he started to not love it so much?

[C]

Well, two things like as somebody who spent his life deeply in debt, I guess he could say, yes, inflation works for me. If you put it in full context or when he tried to do a cleanup later, he's basically saying inflation's not bad. Think about where it could have been. Right? People thought oil was going to be $200 a barrel.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[C]

But the matter is, and he said just this week, like, listen, gas prices were really high when Biden was in office, which was the case when Russia first invaded Ukraine. But guess what? Those high prices and inflation I would say were the fundamental reasons why Joe Biden and subsequently Kamala Harris didn't win the election. Donald Trump promised to lower prices day one. He obviously hasn't done that. I think when he talks about affordability being nonsense or an old fashioned term, I think he's selling the truth because he is in a gilded cage surrounded by people who have made, who are already super wealthy and they've made more money in the last two years than is even conceivable. But where it's politically devastating and not necessarily for him, cuz he doesn't need to be president again. But for every Republican running that soundbite of the President saying inflation's great, that hurts. You and I both have mothers that voted for Donald Trump and I assure you my mother does not think inflation is great and she could tell you the price of London Broil I and the price of gas today, this will hurt Republicans. I say Leonard Broil because like that's,

[A]

that's an awful lot. Would you like some London Royal Scott?

[B]

Well, people don't, 4.2% doesn't sound like a lot. What you need to do is quick math for people in terms of compounding. And that is at 4.2%. If that holds, that means the tuition to go to NYU at $62,000. If you have a baby today, when the kid is ready for college, tuition is now $125,000 or bring it back just five years, it's easier for people to wrap their heads around. That means a car that costs $50,000, it's going to cost $61,000. It's not 4.2, it's 4.2 compounding. And the other thing about this inflation print that's so bad is for the first time in several years, inflation is now greater than wages, meaning the quality of everyone's life, their prosperity is diminished.

[C]

But not for Trump and the people who are around Trump. And he's happy as a clam in that bubble. I think if it wasn't for the war in Iran, he would be on cloud nine.

[B]

And also it just bears mentioning that for the three of us, it really doesn't matter because we own stocks, we own assets. We're hedged against inflation because our house goes up 4.2%, our stocks go up 4.2% because Apple will raise its prices. Who this hurts are earners that don't have assets yet. And let's be clear, revolutions don't start because people aren't employed. They start because people are working two jobs and are still hungry. And this is yet again, it's another, Argentina's had 120% of inflation. There's a class of people there that have always stayed wealthy because they own land. So the landowners and the stock owners, traditionally older people in the United States are just fine. Inflation is yet again another transfer of wealth from non asset owners who are earners to the asset owners.

[C]

Cara, let me just say when people say, when wealthy people say they're panic stricken over Zoram Hamdani coming for capitalism and leading the eat the rich sentiment. He's not leading the eat the rich sentiment. Donald Trump saying I like inflation is fueling the eat the rich sentiment, not the mayor of New York.

[A]

That is correct. And the and the tech bros saying all manner of nonsense every day of the week and twice on Sunday is the same thing. It's anger inducing. And that's where you feel it, I think prediction on which of the IPOs coming or is the stock market about to take a deep fall as many people think? So which of all the IPOs, which one would you buy into? And are you worried about the stock market?

[C]

Listen, I've been saying I've been worried about the stock market for quite some time. And if you talk to CEOs that are not the magnificent seven or that run companies that are impacted by tariffs or mass deposits, those companies are not booming. They are struggling. They can't walk into the White House and offer Donald Trump a plane or God only knows what. It's not so easy for them. So I think under the hood, things aren't great for lots of companies. But honestly, I'm not betting against the stock market because the only way it's been going is up and the current appetite for AI. To me, it might be fragile, but it's big.

[A]

It's big. All right, which one would you buy? It's on a plate in front of you.

[C]

If I was hanging my morals out the window, I'd buy all of them.

[A]

Oh, okay. All right, then. There you go. All right, thank you, Stephanie. And everyone be sure to watch her new Ms. Now show. I'm gonna yell it Money, Power, politics. Weekdays at 9am she's gonna be getting up early to give us the lowdown on everything. Tell us what this move is about. What is the situation with mpp?

[C]

I think we need a great big morning show. I think that especially, obviously, we cover politics, we cover current events, but the economy is the number one thing that people vote on tomorrow. As we talk about the SpaceX IPO, we're gonna have a newly minted trillionaire. We are 16 years out from Citizens United and have more money going into politics than ever. And not just politics, because, hey, I like this candidate. Politics because it's directly impacting policy, not to mention the gargantuan grift and corruption under our nose right now. I couldn't cover all that in one hour. I thought it was important that we. And we covered it in the morning for two hours. And in a way that we're sort of setting the tone for what we cover here, because it's not just about following Trump and the crazy thing he's saying today. We're fundamentally changing potentially the way our economy works, the way capitalism works. And I think we need to cover it in a comprehensive way. And you guys know this as well as I do, the way that business news has traditionally been covered, it's business zoos covered for an audience that invest in the markets. And when CEOs go on TV, they're not necessarily giving their worldview. They're talking about specific information about their companies that's gonna impact their earnings report and their stock performance that day. We need to have much bigger and broader conversations than that. And that's what we're hoping to do

[A]

at nine in the morning too. So you're on after Morning Joe. So Morning Joe sort of yammers on for a long time about politics mostly. So you're gonna come in with a real hard, hard nosed show in the morning? Essentially, yes.

[C]

But also, I mean, yes, at 9 in the morning. But I also think, and you guys know this, I actually just talked about this in an interview the other day. I think that when people watch tv, yes, people watch live tv, but it's more you watch the show that you wanna watch. And if you make an important show that matters, it doesn't actually if Landman is your favorite show or Friends and Neighbors. And I said to you, what time is it on what day? You might say, like, oh, I think it comes out on Fridays. I think for me the most important thing isn't who's necessarily watching me at 9. It's how do we make the best show that counts. Cause that's what people are gonna want and need to see. Think about the way pivot. Think about the way people consume Pivot.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Usually when they're drunk. But no, no, no. Morning running.

[C]

Not just Scott.

[A]

Not just Scott.

[B]

By the way, Stephanie, you. I don't know if you. This is very much related to what you're talking about. We were talking about Taylor Swift, and I don't know if you guys heard, but all of her exes are getting together and collaborating on an album and it's gonna be called maybe she's the Problem.

[A]

Oh, my God, she saved the Knicks. Don't, don't, don't listen to him.

[B]

Stephanie appreciates that.

[A]

Don't answer the question.

[B]

Stephanie appreciates that. Just let's divert from the news. When Stephanie calls me, I'm both excited and scared because every time. Typically her calls start with typically. Not exaggerating. Her calls start with I think you're really fucking up. Oh. Or I'm worried about you.

[A]

I get.

[B]

Whenever she calls, I'm like, oh, this is either going to be very good or very bad.

[C]

Okay, you know what that's called? A person who doesn't waste time. Who's an actual friend.

[B]

That's called a friend. No, you're a friend.

[C]

I called Scott on a personal issue the other day, and when I started the call, I said, let me get to somewhere private. And he immediately said, are you getting a divorce?

[A]

Oh, my God. All right.

[B]

No, I didn't. That's a lie. I said, wait till the kids are gone.

[C]

Yes, that's it. Okay.

[B]

Wait till the kids are out of the house.

[C]

It was a divorce. I was calling Scott. I'm sorry, Spacey. I was calling for actual parenting advice from Scott, which he is fantastic at when it comes to boys. And his immediate response? I just had. Let me get to somewhere where no one else in the family could hear me. Wait till the kids are out of the house was his response. Thanks, Scott.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

And then he proceeded to give me incredible advice.

[A]

May I just say, I have two fine sons? You might.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Yeah, we've heard over and over and over.

[C]

Yes. One of them is quite good at cooking, if you didn't know.

[A]

Yes. He's working for a restaurant now.

[B]

Here we go.

[A]

In San Francisco. He's very excited. He has a little outfit, too.

[C]

The other is at Michigan. He's wonderful. He's got a fantastic girlfriend. Know all about him.

[A]

No, he's got fantastic. He loves his job. He's manufacturing things in an advanced way. All right, thank you, Stephanie.

[B]

Thanks, Stephanie. Good to see you.

[C]

Thank you all so, so much. I love you both. Scott, I'll slide into your DMs later.

[A]

Anyway, let's go on a quick break. When we come back, the Trump administration's freak out over Jeffrey Epstein.

[B]

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[A]

Scott we're back. The Trump administration cannot escape the ESSENCE files, nor should they be able to, no matter how hard they try. And we're now getting more details about the internal panic about Epstein over the last year. Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan shared an excerpt from their upcoming book Regime Change with the New York Times. Both are New York Times writers, by the way. Here are some highlights. The situation became an Epstein war room where strategy meetings took place. JD Vance suggested having Tucker Carlson interview Ghislaine Maxwell in prison. There was talk of then Deputy AG Todd Blanche going on Joe Rogan, but Vance wanted to go on instead of Blanche. Dan Bongino warned there would be President this would be President Trump's Iran Contra. There was talk of nipples and President Trump's disrespect for nipples in the room. And as funny as that sounds, it was pretty grotesque of his abusive young woman. But this is what this entire leadership is talking about and whether he'll be able to handle the nipple stuff getting out. It's not just the White House and has nothing to do with nipples here. Bill Gates was on Capitol Hill this week testifying behind closed doors about his connection to Epstein. Gates said Epstein tried to use information about his extramarital affairs as leverage after the two had cut ties. Well, obviously he did. He's an evil villain. He also acknowledged that meeting with Epstein was a grave error in judgment, which he said before, and put his philanthropy work at risk. And it certainly did, including his own reputation. Talk a little bit about did anything surprise you about how the White House dealt with the Epstein stuff? They sound like fucking amateurs. Every time I was reading it I was like, what a bunch of amateurs. Big fights between Bongino and Patel and Bondi and and Susie Wiles just sitting over it like a demented mother who doesn't know how to control idiot children. Will this be a major issue in terms and I will say, as you know, I was very much in early on saying this is a real problem. Reuters is out with a new poll. 75% of people think the government is hiding information on Epstein's clients and a lot of it is falling as much as Trump has tried to push it off onto other people on the president himself.

[B]

So I think we agree that it should be an issue. I don't think it will be. There's recent data showing there's these march focus groups ranked Epstein 6amongst voter concerns ahead. So it's well in the back of the bus here. I think it is. Again Unfortunately, I just don't think it's that big an issue. I think the American public is so numb to this kind of stuff, especially in the Trump administration. What I actually found more interesting was the whole Gates testimony, and that is he has the. Some of the best and brightest PR people because it wasn't an accident. So when you call someone to come testify in front of a special committee or whoever he testified, you have some say in it. He has the best lawyers in the world. And what do they do, Kara? They got it behind closed doors and they got it during the NBA Finals, during Iran, during the SpaceX IPO. This is what you do. You know this business better than I do. When you have shitty news, you bury it in a big news day, right?

[A]

Yep, absolutely.

[B]

So Gates, whether. Whether you think he deserves to be flogged in public or how guilty or not guilty of whatever you think he is, I just admire the, the PR savvy here.

[A]

Yeah, that would be Larry Cohen behind

[B]

closed doors during a very, very heavy business Newsweek. This story is going to come and go well.

[A]

I still think it's a. I, I'm going to disagree with you because I think I was actually completely accurate at the beginning of the Epstein thing that it's a big deal. I think among the base of people, it remains an illuminating and a thing that gets them going. I don't think it goes away. And what was interesting was Dan Bongino, during this whole thing, kept saying that to the Trump people that this is not a. They kept minimizing it, saying it's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. It was a big fucking deal. And this is something I knew from reading all these QAnon boards. This is at the center. I think it's still at the center. I think it creates an atmosphere among people like Rogan and others, these fucking liars.

[B]

And I think Iran's a bigger deal for them than Epstein.

[A]

It is now. But I'm saying this is like one more, you know, another brick in the wall, like that kind of thing. And so I think Epstein remains a bearing wall of this presidency and he cannot get away from it. And when I get the nipple thing and everything else, and as much as I think he's kind of like an oaf, d' Amagino had it right. And so, by the way, did Vance, although Wiles was sort of accusing him of being a conspiracy theorist. But I think Vance had his finger on the pulse of bringing it out, like, as much as possible, even if it hurt the president slightly because the transparency was more important than what's in it. Unless, of course, there's very clear and inconvertible evidence that he slept with an underage girl, which it's still not proven. There's been a lot of allegations of it, certainly. So I think it's still there. I think it sits there like mold. It just sits there and it sits in the minds of a lot of people like Massie. And even though he's zeroed them, he has not zeroed them, I don't think, by any means. And I think Vance knows it and Bongino certainly knows it with Gates. Look, this, you're right. This was a good time to do his. And he kept going. I'm here voluntarily. Did you see that? Which was kind of interesting. I think this has hurt his reputation. Oh, yeah, no doubt for a long, long, long time. I think he is. This is. He is going to suffer. This is going to. He has done some amazing work. I think his wife is looking. His ex wife is looking fantastic with all this different financial things. She's putting out and handling her image quite well throughout this whole thing. But I think he is permanently harnessed and I'm not sure how any conversation he has going forward does not include this topic. So I think he has done enormous damage to himself by affiliating himself with Epstein and it was a grave error in judgments and it did put his philanthropy at work. So I think it's there. I think it's still there.

[B]

Hard. Anyway.

[A]

All right, let's go on a quick break. We come back. Paramount lashes out against Netflix.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

Of all the media CEOs, the one I know best, which isn't very well, is Ted Sarandos. And any campaign to try and undermine, to undermine this would have to have Ted's blessing. And this just isn't Ted's style. No, he's not.

[A]

He's just going to wait and buy it when they fuck it up. They're $80 billion.

[B]

And I don't see, I don't see any exterior lobbying of people who are clearly in, you know, Netflix's back pocket. I don't see a bunch of Democratic senators getting all jonesed up about this. So I just, it doesn't, it doesn't ring true for me. What does ring true is that some blue state AGs are starting to look into it and may file their own.

[A]

I've met with them

[B]

and may file, may file suit, but I don't see it. Just when I read that, it doesn't. What, what I do do, what I know about Ted, he's. Ted is kind of, you know, when Ted retires, he's, he'll probably be like a diplomat because he's just not the kind of person to shitpost or go on the offensive against people.

[A]

I think they're trash talking it behind the scenes. Like, because, because of the obvious situation. This has enormous amounts of debt on it. It's a lot.

[B]

But I, I interviewed him on stage in LA and I gave him, you know, an opening. I said, isn't the creative community going to scream out in horror when this, when this acquisition close because of the AI and you know, trying to find efficiencies for overpaying. I gave him, I set him up to. And he just, he immediately pivoted to something else and said he hopes they do well. I just don't. He's just not that he's not of that ilk.

[A]

No, I think they're shooting themselves in their own feet and they want to blame other people. This has been. That sounds more accurate to me every step of the way. This acquisition feels cloddish and the debt is the debt. That's what it is. And one of the things I want people to focus on is there's a huge amount of debt they're going to. The ugliness is not now. Even though there's a lot of ugly right now, it's going to happen once the deal is struck because these people cannot keep the promises they've made. They're not very good promise keepers. Some might call them mendacious at times, but they will not be able to keep up their what they are saying they're going to do. And that's when the ugliness will truly start, when they have to make these cuts which have to be significant no matter what they say. Unless Larry Olsen decides to just take his money and bankroll the whole thing, which I don't think he will. This is going to be tough for, for Hollywood and they know it. And I think they're gonna, they're gonna have real troubles and. And then that's when Netflix comes in and sucks up all the pretty parts would be my guess.

[B]

I do. I actually think it probably closes though, because I talked to an economist this weekend and he said it doesn't really fit the Hurd rate for Monopoly. In terms of streaming, if you factor in linear content from their flagship channel, CBS, HBO and HGTV, the hypothetical combined platform gets roughly 20% of total U.S. hours streamed and Netflix is at 60. In terms of total TV viewing time, that combined Warner Brothers, Paramount, streaming and TV All in would represent about 12.2% of total U.S. viewing TV watch time. And that's less than YouTube currently has at about 13. In terms of box office sales, Paramount and Warner brothers represent roughly 25% of the domestic box office. And they're just so well connected with Trump, they'll end up selling off like spongebob squarepants. So some regulator can feel like they've got a win or something or divesting of some stupid children's program. But I think this goes through. Kalshee has it at 75%. I think it's actually higher than that.

[A]

Yeah, I think I've just noticed a lot of Hollywood people, and the smart ones, I'm not talking about the dumb ones, have been like, this feels bad, something feels bad. But I think it's largely all the noise around CBS and the disaster they're perpetrating there. But But I think it's more, I just think they're, the pain is going to come once the deal is done. That is where it's going to happen. And you're going to see like how are they going to get out of this box? And none of them are Houdini in that gang. So that's the problem. We'll see, we'll see where it's going. But definitely the state attorney generals are involved. They're going to try to, they will get them to sell something up there. I am still very concerned about the backing of these Middle Eastern wealth fans owning this much of our media. But, you know, no one else seems to care. But I find that really and EU will, they'll have to do a lot of favors for people going Forward and later Ted's Rondis and YouTube will take it all over. That's my feeling like it's really, these people are like not don't count compared to those two. And where you should watch is YouTube and Netflix. That's pretty much much how I feel. And Disney to a lesser extent. Anyway. Last thing. Canada is the latest country to crack down on social media for teens. The government proposed a bill this week to ban kids under 16 from using social media, though most companies can get exemptions if they prove their platforms adequately protect young users. It's not just Canada. As we said across the pond, UK Prime Minister Starmer is weighing a similar ban. It's comping, it's, it's across the world. But don't expect this to happen in the US Our embassy in London posted about the potential UK ban, writing the United States favors parental empowerment over government mandates. Whatever. Also worth noting though, Australia's social media ban is struggling. 70% of teens are still using social media apps, according to a recent report, because they can get around this stuff. So I think it's more teens continue to smoke after we put stuff on packs and made it harder to buy them. I don't really think that should be the goal there, but I think a society has to say this stuff sucks and is dangerous. So I don't mind just the saying of it. So how do you think about UK and Canada doing?

[B]

I think it's great and I think it's overdue. I don't, I don't think there's any reason why anyone under the age of 16 should be on a social media platform. I think one of the greatest threats to our society is that we're evolving a new species of asocial, asexual males and that 40% of the s and P is now tied to trying to convince these people to sequester from their relationships and be online. And part of the problem is just as their brain is getting wired through puberty, you're teaching them to have constant visual stimulation and be staring at a stranger. I mean, there's even, there's even evidence now that their posture is changing.

[A]

Oh, leaning over.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Unless you have the back to Neanderthal. Right.

[B]

Unless you have collective action. And I do think these bands, you know, schools aren't going to allow you to have a phone if you're, if you're preschool or middle school, you're not allowed to have a phone or, I mean, anyways, I think this is. It took us 30 years to figure out tobacco or regulate it. It took us 20 years with opiates. It looks like, like social went on Mobile in 2013. It looks like it's going to take us exactly about 20 years. But I think this is a great thing. Europe is leading on this. It's weird to describe Europe as an innovator on regulation, but as somebody who has grown up with kids in the kill zone, exactly the wrong age at exactly the wrong time. You know, a lot of people will say to me, I'm really worried. I have a 5 and 8 year old. I'm like, no, no, no, you're fine. We'll have this figured out by the time time they're 13 and 14. But if you went through Covid as a teenager and grew up with social media, I really think you faced some significant headwinds in terms of emotional regulation.

[A]

I do. Can I make another? First of all, as I said, it's a sign that society thinks it's important. Just like we did with cigarettes or seatbelts. Not everyone wears seat belts. Lots of teen smokes. Guess what? Lots of teens drink. Even though we have rules, it's the society saying to its citizens, we think this is bad. You can cheat and they will. No question. I think that argument is so false. Like, oh, teens will get it anyway. I'm like, okay, they'll get liquor anyway. They'll get everything. So I think that's number one. It says something about your society that you care enough. And it isn't mandating, it's just saying, like, as with cigarettes, as with drinking, we shall, our teens shall not do this. And I think that's perfectly fine. And you know, the people that say it's not, they're, they're not paying attention to everything else. The second thing is, I do think Social media is on the decline among young people, not among our people who are addicted, fatally addicted to these things. But I do think I, I watch a lot of young people and I know a lot of them are on there, but I think the age is a little higher.

[B]

I would put an. As I put an asterisk on that. I think it's declining among wealthy, informed young people who have strong parental influences and the money and the resources to get engaged in other things.

[A]

Fair point.

[B]

I think if you're, if you're the. Of a single mother home alone a lot, I don't know. I mean, even among young men, do you know, supposedly men ages 20 to 30 are spending more time and less time outdoors than prison inmates. They're on a fucking screen. And just to go to gaming.

[A]

No, I think I'm talking about social media.

[B]

Some of it's gaming, I agree. But just the big tax excuse has always been we can't find. It would be impossible for us to detect underage users. Guess what? When Australia passed an act, the platforms deactivated nearly 5 million teen accounts in just one month. They were able to figure it out. And meanwhile, that very same detection is being withheld from Americans because our federal government has no interest in protecting children from the harms of social media. The Kids Online Safety act passed the Senate 91 to 3 and then died when House GOP leadership refused a floor vote. So the bill's been reintroduced and is stalled again. A March House markup was pulled amid partisan fights over preemption. And 40 bipartisan state attorney generals are begging Congress to act, warning the House version would gut state child safety laws. So this is.

[A]

I like you bringing the data, Scott.

[B]

Well, the last federal law protecting kids online was COPPA, and it was in 1998. So wait, let me. You don't think the world has changed in 28 years regarding technology and the potential harm for children? Come on.

[A]

I would not ask you. I don't. I think Australia is not working is not the question. It is is teens will find a way. But I do think a society stepping out and saying it. And let me just note, I don't know if you saw this. The trailer just came out for the Social Reckoning, which is the follow up to the Social Network. Jeremy Strong is from Succession is playing Mark Zuckerberg. He's got the voice on down pat. Although he looks too old, I have to say, he's oddly looking old. But it's all about this. It's all about. And it's, you know, it's the story of Francis Haugen really pretty much. And his Facebook files and how this, they had all. They knew what they were doing and they did it anyway. And this was the first to me, this was the moment that, that Zuckerberg went villainous. Right. That he, that he started understanding the something that I'd written about in the times of 2018. This came out in 2019, 2021 period. But this was the moment. And I think this movie, it'll be really interesting by Aaron Sorkin, once again revisiting this issue is that this guy is living large on the backs of teens, on the backs of kids, on the backs of everybody. And I don't think it's going to be great for the image. And I think it's to say it again and again has to happen, including these rules, these laws, these movies and everything else. And Jeremy Strong literally sounds so much like him, it's disturbing.

[B]

Well, the ability of big tech to wash over Washington and separate them from the best interests of our children with mind money. You know what's got in the way of the kids? Online Safety act, better known as cosa. It forces platforms to exercise open quote, reasonable care in designing features so they prevent and mitigate specific harm to minors. Things including content promoting suicide, eating disorders, sexual exploitation and compulsive use patterns. Big tech is fighting those things.

[A]

Yeah, that's because they go, oh, it could be used for this. It could be. They go behind their First Amendment nonsense that, that they tend to try to push out there. Yeah, you can't anticipate every. I just want the society to say no to this. Just like kids with phones in schools. No, no, no. And that's what is, that's what a civil society does to these companies, whether they're cigarette companies, liquor companies, by the way, liquor is on the decline. This, I think social media is going to decline more than you think. I think that's my, that's my prediction anyway. All right, Scott, one more quick break. We'll be back for predictions. Hi, I'm Maria Sharapova, host of the Pretty Tough podcast. Each episode I sit down with high achieving women to discuss the pursuit of excellence without apology. This week, model Sports Illustrated covergirl and entrepreneur Ashley Graham talks about the time she almost quit.

[C]

I called my mom and I said,

[A]

mom, I just, I'm not going to do this anymore. And she told me, no, you are going to stick this out. Your body is going to change so much every decade. You're going to go through something different. So be really happy with who you are right now because things change. Check out pretty tough new episodes on Wednesdays. You can watch it on YouTube or listen in your favorite podcast app.

[B]

Big news this week for all my Gordon Geckos, my Robin Hooders, my Claude squad, Anthropic, which is newly the most valuable AI company in Sephora, announced it would be going public. That news follows reporting that OpenAI plans to go public as soon as September. And that that news follows reporting that SpaceX, which also considers itself an AI company, will be going public in maybe just a few weeks from now. Welcome to the era of the Omega ipo. We are about to see millionaires, billionaires, billionaires, and yes, probably even the world's first trillionaire created overnight. And yes, it's that guy. This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy.

[A]

Chainsaw.

[B]

But all the tech bros who are going to make all the money, they need our money way more than we need their products. And we're going to remind you why on today explained from VOX. So the 2026 midterms is shaping up to be an all out brawl, but the biggest fight may not be between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans, but over the congressional maps itself.

[A]

Gerrymandering is not a good thing. We don't like it and then all of a sudden we're going out and telling people, vote for this.

[B]

So I'm in Ashland, Virginia, a small town just outside of Richmond, which calls itself the center of the universe. And that checks out because it's the center of the political universe, at least when it comes to the 2026 midterms. That's because Ashland sits in Virginia's 1st congressional district, which is one of only about 35 or so that are actually competitive. That makes Virginia particularly important when it comes to the question of gerrymandering. The gerrymandering is a major problem, but it's not like Democrats drew first blood with this one. Donald Trump doesn't think he should be held accountable by anybody, so he's trying to change the rules because he doesn't like the game.

[A]

We've shown what we're capable of. Now let's keep up the push through the midterms.

[B]

America actually will be in your fees and on YouTube. YouTube every Saturday with an interesting interview in politics or culture.

[A]

Okay, Scott, let's hear a prediction.

[B]

Well, one is a, a simple, funny one and the other one is more serious. But the simple one is you're about to see revenues at the hundred biggest podcasts go up 20 to 30%.

[A]

Oh yay. That's awesome.

[B]

Additional just from like everybody. Everybody make their wagers. Pivot is about to get a great deal of money. And so is every other big podcast to be the quote, unquote, to be the. To have exclusive. The exact. The exclusive.

[A]

They've already come knocking.

[B]

I don't care if it's Yahoo Scout or Gemini. These guys are all gonna Yahoo. We're about to some of that cheap claw. Remember all that cheap, cheap money that was being thrown around in 99?

[A]

That was mattress. That was mattresses.

[B]

I mean, you're about to see the podcast universe have the tsunami of money just to say, hey, Joe, we'll give you 10 million bucks if you decide that you only use OpenAI, right? Anyways, that's my stupid, simple one. But the more specific one is that, I mean, look, the fix is in and I just think it's so fucking obvious. Musk called Trump after doing a lot of analysis with his bankers and said, you know, I spent $250 million to get you elected. He probably said, no, you didn't get me elected. He said, well, can you acknowledge that I helped? He said, yeah. And he's like, I'm considering putting two and a half billion into the midterms. How would you like that, President Trump? Well, I'd like it a lot. Well, if you can get Paul Atkins over the SEC to waive that stupid rule that doesn't allow retail investors from participating in great companies like SpaceX. I just have this hankering to put in two, three, maybe $5 billion into the midterm terms.

[A]

Yankering, Hankering. Yes.

[B]

And again, what does that do? It sends 30 to $50 billion in incremental dollars hunting for 100 billion in available shares of SpaceX. This is. All of a sudden, there's 50% more people looking for homes in San Francisco than there was with any other previous ipo. And let's just do the math. Say that takes the price of SpaceX up. Just let's be conservative. 10% at 2 trillion. That's 200 billion. He owns 40%. So he gets $80 billion. Why wouldn't you promise the president 10 billion in the midterms? Citizens United. He can do whatever the fuck he wants. So if he called the President and said, hey, call Paul and tell them to do away with this stupid rule such that retail good Americans can't invest in the best companies. And I got a hankering to put $10 billion to work in the midterm terms. I mean, quite frankly, wouldn't he be stupid not to do that?

[A]

Yes, Absolutely. That's how it works. That's how it works.

[B]

Anyways, my prediction is the fixes in, what people aren't focused on is the waiving of the NASDAQ 100 rules that you gotta wait a year and let price settles is gonna create the ultimate false flag signal of pricing on the day of this ipo.

[A]

That's what they're doing. Oh, they're all talking it up and you're like, oh, you people. And Stephanie's right. Morality has nothing to do with, with it. I could never be an investment banker. I couldn't be a lawyer either. I wouldn't. I'd be like, you're guilty. You should go to jail. I'm going to turn you in. I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it. Same the investment. You suck. I'm not going to take you public. I just couldn't do. I just couldn't do it. I don't know. Well, whatever. Someone has to. Anyway, that was a great prediction. I think you're absolutely right. And, and about the podcast thing.

[B]

Yay, yay, yay, yay for us. But we'll take, we'll cash those checks though. But you investment bankers are evil too.

[C]

What?

[A]

I mean, let me say, how am I that he's going to be a trillionaire? I'm kind of, aren't I?

[B]

Well, I'm all on board now. I love this kind of populist economist out of the uk, Gary Stevenson, and he totally changed my frame of mind. And that is taxes are Kevlar against corruption because when people aggregate too much money, they become corrupt. Power corrupts. And absolute power absolutely corrupts. And taxes are what stands between us and having one person who can decide when to turn off and on battlefield technology in the invasion of Europe.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Do you think you'll, like, hire an army just for me? I don't know. Or I just, I feel like, oh, no. It was irritating before, but now I'm. Anyway, elsewhere in the Karen Scott universe, this week on Prof. G. Conversations, Scott spoke with Anne Applebaum, one of my favorites too, and Fiona Hill. Wow, what a pair. About how Ukraine is rewriting the rules of warfare, the hidden weaknesses of authoritarian regimes, and the future of global power. Power. Let's listen to a clip. I think actually what Ukraine could show is that the beneficiaries of all of this ought to be society, the private sector, the innovators, and that we need to find some kind of model after this, a refresh after all of the dust is settled here while the dust is settling to basically get ourselves back into gear again. So a trillion plus defense budget that's going to be top down is not the way to go at all. You're absolutely right. That is not the way Model.

[B]

A lesson from this is that soft power is underrated and hard power is overrated.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

And we've just gotten it all wrong.

[A]

Scott, I'm glad you did. Those two ladies, they're. They're badasses.

[B]

Yeah. It was our 400th episode and they asked me who I would want on the show and I said either Ann Applebaum or Fiona Hill. And they said we'll get both. So I was really excited to have them on.

[A]

The Women shall save us.

[B]

Yeah, impressive women.

[A]

Anyway, we want to hear from you. Send us your questions about business, tech or whatever's on your mind. Go to nymag.com to submit a question for the show. Oracle 85551 pivot. Okay, that's the show. Thanks for listening to Pivot. Be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We'll be back next week.

[B]

Today's show was produced by Lara Naim and Zoe Marcus, Taylor Griffin and Todd Wiseman. Aaliyah Jackson engineered this episode. Thanks also to Dr. Brosmith Savarian, Dan Shalon, Nishak Khuras, Vox Media's executive producer of podcast. Make sure to follow Pivot on your favorite podcast platform. Thanks for listening to Pivot from Vox Media. We'll be back next week week for another breakdown of all things tech and business.

[A]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone Paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying. No judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment and anyway, give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail].