No Mercy / No Malice Turns 10

Summary

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
Episode: No Mercy / No Malice Turns 10
Date: July 25, 2026
Network: Vox Media Podcast Network

---

Episode Overview

This episode marks the 10-year anniversary of Scott Galloway’s influential newsletter, No Mercy / No Malice. Galloway reflects on the origins, evolution, and significance of the project—not only as a business tool but as a deeply personal and creative practice. He explores the role of storytelling, writing, and design in business and life, and shares the lessons learned from a decade of publishing candid, provocative essays. The episode doubles as a meditation on the value of writing, the changing media landscape, personal discipline, and the enduring importance of love and connection.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis of No Mercy / No Malice

• Galloway describes launching the newsletter in 2016 as a side project from his work at L2, which itself was an attempt to evolve beyond his earlier firm, Prophet, into a more sustainable, recurring revenue model.
  • “My firm at the time L2, was a reincarnation of my first business, Profit, but I wanted to get it more right this time.” (02:22)
• Emphasizes the value of touchpoints and engagement for business sustainability.
• The newsletter began as a forum for thoughts that didn’t fit into other projects and has since become the “center of the flywheel for Prof. G Media.” (02:22)

2. Storytelling as a Superpower

• Galloway reiterates his belief in storytelling as a crucial business and life skill.
  • “We often say storytelling is the most valuable skill, a superpower I'd grant my boys if I could grant them anything.” (01:45)
• Notes that storytelling “equals the efficient transmission of survival, relevant information” and is foundational not just to art or media but to entrepreneurship and leadership.
  • “Entrepreneurs, AKA storytellers, deploy a narrative that captures imaginations and capital to pull the future forward.” (07:52)

3. Writing: The Foundation of Everything

• Discusses writing as the wellspring of all effective storytelling irrespective of medium.
• Quotes Joan Didion: “I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see, and what it means.” (09:13)
• References Janet Emig’s research that writing fully engages the brain—a “full body cognitive workout.”
  • Outlines writing’s three cognitive processes: enactive (doing), iconic (seeing), and symbolic (restating). (09:33)
• Advocates for regular, accountable writing practice and deadlines, referencing Stephen King:
  • “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.” (10:03)

4. Evolution and Editorial Process

• The earliest surviving newsletter was only 288 words, compared to today’s longer, more developed essays.
• Early topics (e.g., Snap’s Spectacles, the 2016 election) showcase a commitment to prescience and making bold calls that “catalyze conversations.” (04:32)
• Editorial process: the newsletter as incubator for new ideas; the best-performing concepts often become book chapters or more significant undertakings.
  • “I use No Mercy, No Malice as an incubator for new ideas and catharsis.” (12:52)
• “Criticism is the receipt for actually saying something.” (13:10)

5. Design as Differentiator

• Creative investment in design and visuals key to standing out—“magazines that pull our clients deeper into the story.” (14:10)
  • Attribution to Catherine Dillon (Chief Creative Officer at L2):
    • “We hired our third animator before hiring our first salesperson.” (14:40)
    • “There are a lot of wonderful storytellers, Scott among them, but I think the visuals associated with No Mercy, No Malice separate it from the pack.” (15:25)

6. Lessons from Engagement and Vulnerability

• Meeting podcast listeners in real life is a source of joy; writing is more intimate, and feedback often deeper.
  • “The written word is a bunker buster, reaching emotions we think are safely buried.” (07:10)
• Vulnerable writing exposes you but also brings community:
  • Discusses his viral post “Love Persevering” on putting down his dog Zoe and the surprising impact of sharing deeply personal stories amidst business and tech topics. (16:00)

7. On Love, Mortality, and Legacy

• The ultimate theme of No Mercy / No Malice: happiness equals love.
  • “The theme that rests at the center of No Mercy, no Malice is the only observation I'm near certain is true: happiness is love. Full stop.” (16:50)
• Galloway confronts mortality and writes partly for his sons—so they might someday understand him and the era they shared.
  • “My boys have little interest in my work. I doubt they've ever read a post, but they will. It will transport them back to this era... But may not know how much I think about and love them and how much I'm going to miss them. That's the real mission here.” (17:00)
• Encourages others:
  • “If you want to live forever, start writing.” (17:03)

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Storytelling:
  “Storytelling is the most valuable skill, a superpower I'd grant my boys if I could grant them anything.” — Scott Galloway (01:45)
• On the Discipline of Writing:
  “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.” (quoting Stephen King) — Scott Galloway (10:03)
• On Visual Communication:
  “We hired our third animator before hiring our first salesperson.” — Catherine Dillon (14:40)
• On the Impact of Vulnerability:
  “Vulnerable writing is a full contact sport that exposes you to injury. It's also incredibly powerful.” — Scott Galloway (16:10)
• On the Meaning of His Work:
  “Happiness is love. Full stop.” — Scott Galloway (16:50) “If you want to live forever, start writing.” — Scott Galloway (17:03)

---

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• Scott on the birth of No Mercy / No Malice: 02:22
• Reflection on early posts and bold predictions: 04:32
• Breakdown of writing’s cognitive benefits: 09:33
• Advice on the practice of writing: 10:03
• Catherine Dillon on design as differentiator: 14:40 – 15:25
• Discussion of personal essays, like ‘Love Persevering’: 16:00
• Parting thoughts on legacy and happiness: 16:50–17:05

---

Conclusion

This special anniversary episode captures the heart of Scott Galloway’s No Mercy / No Malice—a project grounded in fearless analysis, emotional candor, and a relentless drive to communicate meaning through writing and design. Galloway shares hard-won insights on the discipline of creativity, the necessity of vulnerability, and the enduring value of love as both a business and human imperative. Those seeking practical advice, inspiration, or context for Galloway’s work will find this episode rich, engaging, and deeply personal.

Transcript

[Northwest Registered Agent Announcer]

Support for the show comes from Northwest Registered Agent. Your business identity is everything that makes your business legitimate and professional. With Northwest Registered Agent, you don't just form a business, you start a complete foundation built for privacy, credibility and growth that includes registered agent service, a business address, operating agreement, domain website, professional email, phone number, and built in privacy. In other words, your home address, personal email and phone number. Stay private. Don't pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for what you can get from Northwest for free. Visit northwestregisteredagent.com Prof. Gfree and start using free resources to build something amazing. Get more with Northwest registered [e-mail] profg free.

[Accenture Announcer]

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales using automation, analytics and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn [e-mail] Spotify

[Google Chrome Announcer]

this episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it, ready to make anything online make sense. There's no place like Chrome. Check responses, set up required compatibility and availability Various 18

[Scott Galloway]

I'm Scott Galloway and this is no Mercy, no Malice. We often say storytelling is the most valuable skill, a superpower I'd grant my boys if I could grant them anything. Every Friday for the past decade, my storytelling practice has included writing this post no Mercy, no Malice. It's the laboratory at the center of our books, podcasts and Prophet Media. No Mercy, no malice turns 10 as read by George Hahn.

10 years ago this month, I began writing no Mercy, no Malice every Friday. My firm at the time L2, was a reincarnation of my first business, Profit, but I wanted to get it more right this time. Profit was and is a good firm, but it was trapped in a transactional service model versus a recurring revenue model. This created a more fragile revenue stream with a greater cost of sales as there were only so many weekends I could play golf. We conceived L2 around an annual fee membership model and we tracked touch points how many times the client interacted with our product, which predicted renewal. Note this strategy paid off twice. I sold profit for 2.8 times revenue and L2 for 8 times. Before I sold L2, we'd launched a series of media products to create more engagement. Winners and Losers was a video series exploring innovation in the consumer sector, and no Mercy, no Malice was meant to be a newsletter exploring, well, whatever was on my mind that week. In addition, I enjoy writing. I pen a book every 18 months, believing it's effectively exercise for the brain. I've convinced myself that I'm less prone to early onset dementia when I'm struggling to fix that last sentence. No Mercy, no malice was too salty for Gartner, the acquiring company, and they said it could not be affiliated with the firm, but I could have the IP a decade later. We have 430,000 subscribers and the newsletter is the center of the flywheel for Prof. G Media. The tone and aim of no Mercy, no Malice is provide insight and be fearless. The oldest surviving no Mercy, no Malice post dates to November 18, 2016. It's only 288 words, roughly 20% of a typical post these days. A few things stand out. The post Warby Snarker was about Snap's new camera equipped glasses, known as spectacles. A decade later, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel continues to pursue his wearable white whale despite erasing 95% of the company's market cap over the past five years. The 2016 post contains an early example of Profg Media's visual storytelling, in this case a chart comparing Nike's performance on Instagram's new at the Time Stories feature to its performance on Snapchat. Also, there's a prediction from L2 Co founder Maureen Mullen. It proved to be correct, highlighting a no mercy, no malice commitment to making bold calls that catalyze conversations. Finally, the post links to my message about the 2016 election. As I noted at the time, every CEO and founder felt compelled to say something to their troops about the political earthquake that was sending, and continues to this day, to send shockwaves through our society and the world. In the subsequent decade, however, most of those leaders have gone silent. I've grown louder, consistently writing about the topics I believe matter most. I believe Trump Inc. Is a criminal enterprise and a stain on the American experience. Another hint accusing me of Trump Derangement Syndrome has no effect. Whenever I'm in public, I can tell which media channel is the catalyst for someone approaching me. If someone says the dog or uses a similar bro opener, they likely recognize me from our videos. If the approach is more familiar, like we're old friends they're a podcast listener. My favorite thing about podcasting is the friends you don't know. It's a parasocial medium, but if they want to discuss losing a parent or the tension between making a living and being a present dad, I know they're a reader of my newsletter and or books. The written word is a bunker buster, reaching emotions we think are safely buried. We believe storytelling is the most valuable skill, a superpower you'd grant your children if possible. The arc of evolution bends toward good storytellers as storytelling equals the efficient transmission of survival, relevant information. Business runs on the same code. Entrepreneurs, AKA storytellers, deploy a narrative that captures imaginations and capital to pull the future forward. Regardless of the medium. However, I believe storytelling begins with writing. Joan Didion put it I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see, and what it means. In other words, when we write, we're learning and teaching. In A widely cited 1977 paper, Composition Scholar Janet Emig concluded that writing involves the fullest possible functioning of the brain, which entails the active participation in the process process of both the left and the right hemispheres. According to Emig, writing simultaneously engages three cognitive processing enactive learning by doing the physical act of writing iconic scanning and depicting text with the eyes and symbolic restating thoughts into structured words. Writing is a full body cognitive workout. Talent matters, but reps matter more. It's a practice. As Stephen King explained in On A Memoir of the Craft, amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work. My advice? Commit to a certain amount of time to write on a regular basis and have deadlines or some other form of accountability. As the Nike ads famously say, just do it. The first 100 newsletters were written by me late Thursday night after I came home from drinking. It pains me to say this, but some are better. When I'm a bit fucked up, I'm less guarded as the white space the better missives tap into is straight men who aren't in touch with their emotions. It's a big market. Writing isn't just a personal discipline, however. It confers a competitive advantage and the best run organizations treat it that way. Jeff Bezos said the smartest thing they ever did at Amazon was to ban PowerPoints in favor of six page narratively structured memos. His reasoning decks hide flaws in logic, functioning as sales tools meant to persuade, whereas memos expose weak arguments, force deep thinking, and compel clarity. The US Military adheres to a strict bottom line up front writing style that puts the most important information at the top of the document. If they bury the point, it might cost lives. Reporters at the Associated Press, a journalistic institution dating to the 1846 Mexican American War, deploy a similar inverted pyramid to communicate information in descending order of importance. AP style is the operating system for news, the common thread. Good writing reduces storytelling to first principles I'm going on Bill Maher next Friday. When the producer calls to review topics, I will write about the one that resonates most as prep last month I wrote about metrics maxing, specifically how a growing obsession with health and fitness data is obscuring life's purpose and meaning. Many of the themes apply to no Mercy, no Malice. Our team tracks the visual digital media metricsopenrates, views, etc. But that data has zero influence on editorial decisions. I use no Mercy, no Malice as an incubator for new ideas and catharsis. Things I'm thinking about but haven't been able to express. The good ideas usually survive our editorial meetings and become posts. The best ideas, that is Those that resonate deeply turn into chapters in books. We want to be fearless and spark a conversation by wading into dangerous waters. The struggles of young men, college admissions, antisemitism, tech valuations trump a byproduct of my writing. Is criticism a win? As I believe that criticism is the receipt for actually saying something. Also, often I just plain get it wrong. We sold L2 for 8 times revenue, in part because we manufactured scarcity saying no to potential clients and had a good subscription model. Our competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace, however, wasn't a function of our proprietary data and analysis, but our commitment to investing in creative differentiation. As my business partner and the chief creative officer at L2, Katherine Dillon, often reminds me we hired our third animator before hiring our first salesperson. We also spent thousands of dollars licensing Getty Images photos because we viewed our reports not as dry white papers, but as magazines that pull our clients deeper into the story. As Catherine said in a recent presentation on design as a differentiator, there are a lot of wonderful storytellers, Scott among them, but I think the visuals associated with no Mercy, no Malice separate it from the pack. Catherine is biased and correct. One frequently asked question from readers do you draw those charts yourself?

[Ryan Reynolds]

No.

[Scott Galloway]

But the woman who created the visual style for no Mercy, no Malice deployed hand drawn grayscale illustrations to communicate a personal and professional tone that lets readers feel like they're inside an idea incubator. In other words, Catherine and the designer nailed it. One of the joys of podcasting is meeting your listeners in real life and discovering that most people are lovely. Newsletters, sadly, don't go on tour. On the Internet, spam bots and bad faith actors conspire to reduce our expectations for humanity. As I've previously written, most people, including me, are lesser versions of themselves. Online vulnerable writing is a full contact sport that exposes you to injury. It's also incredibly powerful. One of the most popular posts I've ever published was about putting down our dog Zoe. It's titled Love Persevering and doesn't fit into a newsletter about business, technology and the forces shaping society. Yet it sits in the archive sandwiched between a post about the attention economy and another about individualism and institutions. Five years on, my tribute to Zoe is a reminder that while fear permeates our culture, action in this case writing absorbs anxiety. Also, for an economic animal ruthlessly focused on maximizing my career and financial trajectory, a post about trading my arrested adolescent's lifestyle soho loft homes in Delray beach in London for marriage, kids and dogs proves that the key to happiness is investing in deep, meaningful relationships. The theme that rests at the center of no Mercy, no Malice is the only observation I'm near certain is true happiness is love. Full stop. I write a lot about the end death, believing that I'll go first and that someday I'll look into my son's eyes and know our relationship is coming to an end. This has been an unlock all the fear of shaming, worrying what other people think, and reticence to tell people I love them melts as the light at the end of the tunnel draws nearer. My boys have little interest in my work. I doubt they've ever read a post, but they will. It will transport them back to this era, the good and bad, and cement what they feel. But may not know how much I think about and love them and how much I'm going to miss them. That's the real mission here, that no mercy, no malice will be read by my sons years from now and remind them how much they miss me. If you want to live forever, start writing.

Life is so rich.

[Odoo Announcer]

Running a business shouldn't feel like surviving. A software group project. One app for accounting, another for inventory, another for sales, and somehow none of them talk to each other. That's where Odoo comes in, an all in one business management software that brings every part of your business together, from sales and accounting to inventory and marketing, all in one powerful platform. No messy integrations, no bouncing between tabs. And best of all, no spreadsheets. Stop managing software and start managing your business with one unified system. Try for free today at odoo.com Vox that's O-O-O.com Vox

[Ryan Reynolds]

hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for 50amonth is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] switch upfront payment

[1-800-Contacts Announcer]

of $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for a 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy. See terms.

[Scott Galloway]

Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today.

[1-800-Contacts Announcer]

Well, I' the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh my gosh, they're so fast.

[Scott Galloway]

And breathe.

[1-800-Contacts Announcer]

Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste.

[Accenture Announcer]

Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order.

[Scott Galloway]

1-800-contacts.