Podcast Summary: Pivot

Episode: Disney's OpenAI Investment, Nvidia Chip Deal, and Australia’s New Social Media Ban
Date: December 12, 2025
Hosts: Kara Swisher & Scott Galloway
Producer: New York Magazine & Vox Media Podcast Network

Overview

In this episode of Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway tackle major tech and media headlines: Disney's billion-dollar deal with OpenAI, the implications of the Trump administration’s greenlight for Nvidia to sell AI chips to China, and Australia's landmark social media ban for users under 16. The duo also digress into the ongoing saga of media mergers, U.S. immigration policy’s tie-in with social media monitoring, and the political discourse surrounding affordability as a campaign issue. True to form, the show features sharp (and irreverent) banter, personal insights, and bold opinions.

Table of Contents

1. Personal Banter & Health Talk (01:53–08:15)
2. Disney’s $1 Billion OpenAI Investment (08:15–13:02)
3. Nvidia Chip Sale to China: Risks & Critique (13:02–19:19)
4. CNN/Paramount, M&A, and Presidential Meddling (19:19–33:48)
5. Social Media Screening for Foreign Visitors (37:16–43:48)
6. Affordability as a 'Hoax' & Political Optics (43:48–50:49)
7. Australia Bans Social Media for Under-16s (53:39–60:53)
8. Person of the Year & Cultural Moments (63:09–68:44)
9. Notable Quotes by Segment

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1. Personal Banter & Health Talk

(Starts ~01:53, Ends ~08:15)

• Kara teases Scott about his tardiness and her birthday.
• They share updates from health checkups, body scans, and discuss supplements like creatine and testosterone.
• Discussion includes the aging process, self-perception, managing stress, and personal happiness.
  • Kara: "I feel happy now. I feel very happy. I mean, I was happy then, I was happy that now." (07:30)
  • Both riff amusingly about age, body image, and who "invented fire."

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2. Disney’s $1 Billion OpenAI Investment

(Starts ~08:15, Ends ~13:02)

• Disney announced a $1 billion investment in OpenAI, allowing users to generate videos with Disney characters via OpenAI's Sora, but not using actors’ likenesses or voices.
• Kara lauds the strategic move for both companies and points out OpenAI’s need for a PR win.
  • Kara: "This is inevitable that they're, they're either going to steal it. And one thing that happened with YouTube is... it took too long, right, to do what is now very lucrative for everybody." (11:14)
• Scott raises legal and cultural implications:
  • Why pay for Disney IP but not other rights?
  • Concern over potential future lawsuits.
• Banter about the selection of "classic" characters rather than modern ones and the possible lack of real business substance behind the press release.
  • Scott: "This is smart for both of them. I don't know if it's gonna amount to anything, but it's a good press release." (10:50)
  • Kara notes the move is a hedge against inevitable copyright infringement—someone will use the characters, so Disney might as well monetize via partnership.

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3. Nvidia Chip Sale to China: Risks & Critique

(Starts ~13:02, Ends ~19:19)

• Trump administration is permitting Nvidia to sell H200 AI chips to China for a 25% Treasury cut.
• Kara summarizes widespread criticism: "Why would the President give away one of America's chief technological advantage to an adversary and its chief economic competitor?" (16:11)
• Scott’s analysis:
  • The embargo led China to innovate workarounds, potentially accelerating their AI arms race.
  • Ideally, US should "give the Chinese just enough chip technology that it grows our economy and our champions, but we still maintain a lead." (15:01)
  • Worries about chips’ use for military AI and weapons systems.
  • Sees Trump’s decision as motivated by lobbying and lacking strategic foresight.
  • "We gave a strategic competitor AI progress, stronger military capability… and in exchange, what we got was Nvidia stocks going to go up and 25, whatever." (18:23)
• Both hosts agree a better deal or none at all would have been preferable.

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4. CNN/Paramount, M&A, and Presidential Meddling

(Starts ~19:19, Ends ~33:48)

• Trump says CNN "must be sold" as a condition in the Warner Brothers/Paramount deal.
  • Kara: “President is not supposed to say things like this, but of course whatever.” (19:24)
  • Trump is also rumored to be micromanaging suitors for CNN, making them promise changes if their deals go through.
• Scott details how buyers with the most money typically win media acquisitions—with antitrust and security review as the only systemic guardrails (often circumvented).
  • “The way it should work: biggest check wins initially, then it goes under antitrust review, then national security review.” (22:56)
• Concerns with foreign capital, especially Gulf or China-linked funding—questions of free speech, influence, and transparency.
• Side conversation on history of bad mergers and testosterone-fueled bidding wars (AOL/Time Warner, Paramount, etc.), with cautionary tales and character analysis of the major players.
  • Kara: "It’s a yacht that’s leaking and that’s what he’s bought." (29:36)
  • Scott: "More than anything, testosterone gets involved… This is why two-thirds of mergers don't work." (27:25)

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5. Social Media Screening for Foreign Visitors

(Starts ~37:16, Ends ~43:48)

• New Trump policy would have U.S. customs reviewing social media profiles of travelers from 42 visa-waiver countries.
• Kara is incredulous at the proposal: "In the free speech nation… I can't believe they're even considering looking at people's social media." (37:16)
• Scott distinguishes between screening for citizenship/long-term visas and regular tourism:
  • “The bar has to be pretty fucking low to gain entry to come in and spend money.” (41:55)
  • Warns U.S. is already losing tourism revenue due to hostile policies.
• Both agree reviewing social media for ordinary tourists is absurd and bad for the U.S. economy and soft power.

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6. Affordability as a 'Hoax' & Political Optics

(Starts ~43:48, Ends ~50:49)

• Trump dismisses affordability as the new "hoax" in a public speech, ridiculing campaign focus on cost of living.
  • Kara describes Trump as meandering, low-energy, and disconnected from real economic pain.
  • Scott shares stark statistics on health, housing, and affordability:
    • "27% of respondents have skipped a medical checkup because of costs... a quarter have skipped a prescription..." (45:11)
  • Both criticize politicians of all stripes for failing to offer serious structural solutions to affordability—instead reaching for "band-aid" fixes.

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7. Australia Bans Social Media for Under-16s

(Starts ~53:39, Ends ~60:53)

• Australia bans social media access for users under 16; platforms like TikTok and Instagram face heavy fines for violations.
• U.S. state-level action in Florida cited as similar.
• Kara and Scott strongly favor collective action over parental control alone:
  • Scott: "Unless this is collective action through legislation… only then can you fix it. Otherwise, only the ostracized kids are really off those platforms." (56:16)
• Scott credits Jonathan Haidt’s work for triggering real legislative change and urges other countries to follow Australia’s lead.
• Data points:
  • Instagram made $4B from 13-to-17 year olds in 2022.
  • 53% of U.S. kids own a smartphone by 11.
  • U.S. teens spend ~5 hours/day on social media.

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8. Person of the Year & Cultural Moments

(Starts ~63:09, Ends ~68:44)

• Time honored "The Architects of AI" as Person(s) of the Year, but Scott and Kara offer alternatives:
  • Scott: MacKenzie Scott, for her philanthropy (“different approach to what I'll call feminine giving”). (63:35)
  • Kara: K-Pop Demon Hunters (and a nod to Taylor Swift), focusing on culture’s role in uniting and inspiring.
  • Both agree the Time pick is "a snooze"—the real impact stories are elsewhere.
• Scott shares a formative mentoring story about leadership and effectiveness from Bob Swanson, Genentech founder.

Notable Quotes by Segment

Disney & OpenAI

• Kara, on inevitability of deals: “They’re either going to steal it. … Figure out a way you can do a deal.” (11:14)
• Scott: “I don't know if it amounts to anything. It's a good press release.” (10:50)

Nvidia Chips to China

• Scott: “We gave a strategic competitor AI progress, stronger military capability, likely a more … innovative tech ecosystem, while exposing all of our own firms to regulatory, geopolitical and long term competitive risks.” (18:23)
• Kara: “He’s the worst deal maker in America.” (18:23)

CNN/Paramount Saga

• Scott: “Biggest check wins… then (it) goes under antitrust review… under national security review.” (22:55)
• Kara: “It’s a yacht that’s leaking and that’s what he’s bought.” (29:36)

Social Media Screening

• Kara: “I can't believe they're even considering looking at people's social media. Like, what do you fucking care if you think Marco Rubio is dickless? Which I do. And I will say on social media, this is insane from a business point of view, correct?” (37:22)
• Scott: “The bar has to be pretty fucking low to gain entry to come in and spend money.” (41:55)

Affordability

• Scott: “Affordability requires an adult conversation and long term structural solutions. Are we ready for an adult conversation around housing, medical care, tuition costs, and antitrust?” (48:30)
• Kara: “But from a marketing point of view, him making fun of it, I don't even understand what the theory is here except that he has frontal lobe dementia.” (47:41)

Australia’s Social Media Ban

• Scott: “This was the most generous accretive gift to kids likely in Australian history.” (54:55)
• Kara: “Parents should get off their phones when they're in front of their kids… But it is incredible. It's too hard to use and it's not your fault, parents… It's their responsibility.” (58:05)

TL;DR

Disney’s $1B OpenAI investment is less about immediate returns, more about protecting IP and prepping for inevitable AI/copyright disruption. Nvidia’s chip deal with China is widely panned: short-term profit for U.S. firms, long-term strategic risk for America. In media mergers, money wins over logic or ethics, with presidential interference raising red flags. U.S. immigration screening via social media is blasted as bad for business and American values. Affordability is the campaign issue both parties avoid with real solutions; Trump’s mockery only hurts himself. Australia’s social media ban is hailed as a real win for kids and a model for the world. Hosts close by rejecting the notion that tech billionaires are the real “persons of the year,” instead lauding philanthropists and culture that unites.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

Pivot remains a must-listen for unfiltered tech/business commentary with equal parts information, humor, and shouted exasperation. This episode sees Kara and Scott skewer both the powerful and the institutions meant to check them, all while offering insight, irreverence, and a dose of real-world data for context.

(Timestamps are approximate.)