Slate Money: Episode "ABC" — December 7, 2019

Host: Felix Salmon (Axios)
Co-hosts: Emily Peck (HuffPost), Anna Shymansky (Breaking Views)

Episode Overview

This episode covers a range of significant business and finance stories from the week, with deep dives into the reshuffling at Google/Alphabet, Uber’s newly released safety report, and Silver Lake’s high-stakes investment in Manchester City Football Club. Through dynamic, candid discussion, the hosts analyze the broader implications for tech accountability, corporate transparency, and the intersection of sports, technology, and media.

1. Alphabet/Google's Leadership Shift (00:00–12:32)

Key Points

• Main News: Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announce they are stepping down from day-to-day management at Alphabet, promoting Sundar Pichai to oversee both Google and its parent company.
• Corporate Structure:
  • Alphabet is intentionally confusing: it’s an umbrella holding company with many subsidiaries (Waymo, Calico, Fitbit, Nest, etc.), some of which are only distantly related to core Google products.
  • Despite stepping back, Larry and Sergey retain voting control via class B shares.
• Power and Accountability:
  • Sundar Pichai receives the title and responsibilities but little real voting power. (Felix: “Sundar is not exactly poor—he has $100 million worth of Alphabet shares, but his shares have, on average, 0.07 votes each.” [05:54])
  • Larry and Sergey maintain majority board control: "There is literally no way in which anyone can hold them accountable for anything that happens at Alphabet, despite the fact that they control the company." ([06:56])
• Techlash & Culture Shift:
  • Google has evolved from a scrappy search company to a giant, bureaucratic media and advertising conglomerate.
  • Past perception of the tech founder as a “cool” disruptor is replaced by scrutiny of tech leaders over workplace issues and global influence.
  • Internal advocacy at Google is strong, with employee activism around issues like Project Firefly (China search engine) and worker complaints to the NLRB.
• Media & YouTube:
  • Discussion of Alphabet’s opacity regarding YouTube’s financials.
  • YouTube is a vector for misinformation, and its role in political advertising and regulation remains a pressing, unresolved issue.

Notable Quotes

• Felix Salmon:
  “The boys put out this cute little email…saying, ‘Hey, we don’t really need to run this place anymore. We can just let Sundar take over’…as if they aren’t running a trillion-dollar mega behemoth.” ([01:58])
• Anna Shymansky:
  “As Google is coming under more scrutiny…he is going to more and more have to be the face.” ([06:20])
• Emily Peck:
  "Now tech CEO is just like any other CEO…Being a tech founder is cool because…zero accountability." ([06:56])

Timestamps

• [00:00–04:16] — Introduction, overview of Alphabet and its subsidiaries
• [04:16–06:09] — Stock control and voting structure
• [06:09–07:42] — End of an era, change in tech culture
• [07:42–12:32] — YouTube, antitrust, and techlash

2. Uber's First-Ever U.S. Safety Report (12:32–23:42)

Key Points

• What Happened:
  • Uber releases a comprehensive U.S.-only safety report, sharing statistics on sexual assaults, fatal physical assaults (murders), and traffic fatalities.
• Transparency:
  • Uber worked with sexual violence experts to define and categorize 21 types of sexual misconduct and assault, including “non-consensual sexual penetration,” which is more broadly defined than legal “rape.”
  • Report counted ~6,000 complaints (reports) from 2.2 billion rides; <500 rapes; ~9 fatal assaults annually (split nearly equally between riders & drivers); ~35 pedestrian deaths in two years.
  • Not all reports verified—these are incident claims, not necessarily confirmed cases.
• Industry Context:
  • Uber is the first in its sector to reveal detailed safety data; the hosts praise this as a positive shift towards transparency.
  • Numbers should be contextualized: compared to overall scale, the incidence rates are extremely low. Fatalities are analogized to other sectors (e.g., Walmart), underscoring that Uber’s figures may not be disproportionately high.
  • Advocates hope Uber's open-source taxonomy will set a reporting standard for other companies.
• Reporting Challenges:
  • Reliable year-to-year comparisons will be hard, as higher reporting may stem from improved accessibility to report, not necessarily increased incidents.
  • The majority of Uber's business is outside the U.S., but this report is U.S.-only; Uber cites differing legal/cultural standards and huge operational differences abroad as reasons for not including global data.
• Societal Implications:
  • There’s a broad failure to address vehicular fatalities socially.
  • The challenge of quantifying and comparing sexual assault data across sectors and companies.
  • Tech enables more transparent reporting, but also reveals uncomfortable truths.

Notable Quotes

• Emily Peck:
  “Transparency is what everyone is asking these companies to do. And the numbers that they put out…when you consider the scale of the platform, they’re not big, they’re just not.” ([13:01])
• Felix Salmon:
  “I mean, like the dead people are true. They’re truly dead.” ([15:32])
• Anna Shymansky:
  “I would probably argue that the fact that they’re putting this out is a sign that the company itself is getting better.” ([16:54])
• Emily Peck:
  "So all Uber is, is—I mean, they were bad with safety, you know, during the Travis time. And I bet if you looked really far back at the data, it would be much worse." ([15:37])

Timestamps

• [12:32–14:34] — What the report covers, scale of incidents
• [14:34–15:57] — Methodology, victimization of both riders/drivers
• [15:57–18:48] — Why Uber did this, potential impact, comparability
• [18:48–22:48] — U.S.-only focus, international limitations
• [22:48–23:42] — Tech/structural differences in other nations, ease of reporting

3. Manchester City Investment — Tech’s Expansion into Sports (23:42–34:14)

Key Points

• Headline:
  • Silver Lake, a prominent Silicon Valley investor, makes a ~$500 million investment in City Football Group (owners of Manchester City F.C.), valuing it among the world’s top sports franchises.
• Why Invest in Sports?:
  • Unlike classic “billionaire whimsy,” this is a private equity firm seeking high returns, not a tycoon’s vanity purchase.
  • City Football Group’s multi-team ownership (7 clubs worldwide) is seen as a scalable “entertainment” platform, exporting the Manchester City “model” (youth academy, sports science, etc.) globally.
• Return on Investment Dilemma:
  • Silver Lake’s expectation of tripling its money on a $4.8 billion valuation prompts skepticism.
• Globalization & Media:
  • Soccer’s global reach is a key asset, but the U.S. league remains a distant competitor to European giants. If U.S. spectator interest catches up, NYCFC’s value could surge.
  • The discussion links tech/media convergence—Alphabet/YouTube is entertainment, Silver Lake wants to scale and professionalize sports the way it did tech.
• Monetization Differences—U.S. vs. Global:
  • Big U.S. sports depend on frequent ad breaks, which soccer lacks.
    Felix Salmon: “If you’re a TV company, and you are faced with a choice between running basketball where there’s an ad every five minutes, or a soccer game where there’s no ads for 45 minutes straight, you are going to choose the basketball game.” ([30:10])
  • Soccer’s future in the U.S. likely lies in subscription streaming, not ad breaks.
  • Major sporting events retain value because people watch live—appointments crucial for advertisers.

Notable Quotes

• Felix Salmon:
  “This is not billionaire whimsy…Silver Lake…expect to see a 3x return on their $500 million dollar investment. So my question for you, Anna, is: how on earth does Silver Lake make a 3x return when it’s buying in at a $4.8 billion valuation?” ([25:22])
• Anna Shymansky:
  “I do think it’s interesting because…as of yet, no one’s quite been able to figure out how to get Americans to watch soccer. And women seem to be able to do it a little bit better than men because they play better.” ([29:38])
• Emily Peck:
  “It feels like this company operates like a sports league, but it has more power and strength.” ([27:08])

Timestamps

• [23:42–25:22] — The Silver Lake–Man City deal, valuation stakes
• [25:22–27:39] — Strategy: multi-club model & entertainment push
• [27:39–29:38] — Globalization, growing soccer as a U.S. spectator sport
• [29:38–31:19] — Monetization: ad-supported vs. subscription TV
• [31:19–34:14] — Future of media revenue streams and sports consumption

4. Numbers Round & Outro (34:14–41:33)

Highlights

Peloton Ad Backlash (34:14–38:57)

• Emily’s Number: 30 (seconds — duration of viral Peloton ad)
• The hosts discuss the viral “Peloton Wife” ad, which spurred a 13% drop in Peloton stock after Twitter outrage.
• Media virality can significantly impact stock price, even when fundamentals are unchanged.
• Peloton’s bikes are critiqued as overpriced and undifferentiated commodities; success is attributed largely to marketing.

Quotes:

• Felix: “The ad has no effect on anything until it gets noticed by Twitter, at which point it causes the stock to plunge.” ([36:04])

Stephen F. Austin Basketball Miracle (38:57–40:18)

• Anna’s Number: $137,000 (surge in GoFundMe donations for a player whose family was affected by Hurricane Dorian after the team’s upset win over Duke)
• Feel-good moment about sports' power to rally empathy.

Gin Craze in the UK (40:18–41:33)

• Felix’s Number: 66 million (number of gin bottles sold in the UK in 2018, up 41% in one year)
• Gin sales now match the population—Britain’s in a gin boom, helped by “artisanal” tonic water trends.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “Being a tech founder is cool because the thing that Larry and Sergey have, which no one else has, is zero accountability.” — Felix (06:56)
• “Transparency is what everyone is asking these companies to do. And the numbers that they put out…are not big.” — Emily (13:01)
• "[Silver Lake's investment]…is not billionaire whimsy…my question is: how on earth do they make a 3x return?” — Felix (25:22)

Summary Table of Key Segments

| Segment | Topic | Timestamp | |------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|-----------------| | Segment 1 | Alphabet/Google succession & structure | 00:00–12:32 | | Segment 2 | Uber’s safety report | 12:32–23:42 | | Segment 3 | Silver Lake buys Manchester City stake | 23:42–34:14 | | Numbers Round | Peloton ad, SFA win, UK gin | 34:14–41:33 |

Tone & Style

Engaging, irreverent, and cerebral—Slate Money’s hosts blend deep industry knowledge with jaded humor and cultural insight. Their banter is sharp but accessible, balancing skepticism with cautious optimism about transparency and innovation in business.

Summary prepared for readers seeking an in-depth, structured recap of key themes, arguments, and the tone of Slate Money’s “ABC” episode, omitting extraneous or sponsored content.