The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

Episode: Scott’s Thoughts on Joe Rogan, Year-End Reflections, and Hiring Great People
Date: December 19, 2025
Host: Scott Galloway (Prof. G)
Format: Office Hours – Scott answers listener questions about business, careers, and life.

Episode Overview

This episode of The Prof G Pod features Scott Galloway responding to listener questions covering three core topics: his thoughts on Joe Rogan and podcast culture, year-end personal and professional reflections, and advice on hiring great people for small businesses. Throughout the episode, Scott provides candid insights, draws on personal stories, and delivers his signature blend of directness, vulnerability, and practical advice.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Thoughts on Joe Rogan & Podcast Responsibility

(Starts at 01:56)

• Influence on Podcasting:

  • Scott credits Joe Rogan with “blowing open the medium,” stating that all podcasters “should probably send a royalty to Joe every time we do a podcast.”
  • Rogan is described as a good interviewer who tries to present guests in their best light and sets a civil “vibe” for the podcasting culture.

• Approach to Guests and Challenge:

  • Scott aims to avoid “gotcha” tactics and prefers to challenge guests just enough to address listener questions without creating a “food fight” or seeking viral moments.

• Critique on Misinformation:

  • Expresses strong criticism for Rogan and Spotify regarding their handling of COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation.
  • Shares a deeply personal story of losing someone close due to anti-vaccine beliefs, expressing the consequences of false equivalence and inadequate fact-checking on large platforms.
  • Scott removed all of his podcasts from Spotify in protest during the pandemic.

• Moral Responsibility of Platforms:

  • While he doesn’t “hold any platform or podcaster responsible for the death of an individual around Covid,” he insists that as platforms grow, so does their responsibility for truthfulness and diligent fact-checking.
  • Mixed feelings overall: respect for Rogan’s impact; disappointment in his, and Spotify’s, handling of their influence during the pandemic.

Notable Quotes:

• “Everybody in podcasting should probably send a royalty to Joe every time we do a podcast because I do think he blew open the medium.” (Scott Galloway, 02:10)
• “I do hold Spotify and Joe responsible for not… matching their fact checking and their fidelity to the truth around really sensitive issues as their platform has grown.” (Scott Galloway, 05:50)
• “I want to be clear. I don’t hold any platform or any podcaster responsible for the death of an individual around Covid. But… Spotify and Joe were reckless with other people’s health.” (Scott Galloway, 06:50)

2. Year-End Reflections: Highs and Lows

(Starts at 07:25)

• Professional Highlights:

  • Book Accomplishment: “Notes on Being a Man” reached #1 on The New York Times Bestseller list—his first time topping the chart.
  • Pivot Live Tour: Seven live podcast events in seven cities, with about 15,000 attendees—surprised by and grateful for audience engagement.
  • Business Stability and Growth: Hired talented people; business remains strong.

• Professional Lowlights:

  • Disappointing personal investment returns, having invested in a bitcoin treasury company and other flat stocks.
  • Reflects on how financial expectations have shaped his sense of success, candidly admitting:
    • “Although why the fuck do I care? I have enough money. It hasn’t changed my life, but still it weighs on me mentally when I’m not making good money.” (08:52)

• Personal Lowlights:

  • Loss of his father (“not surprising, 95, lived the American dream”), which brought up complicated emotions and family reflections.

• Personal Highlights:

  • Took his eldest son on a college tour across “seven cool little towns,” describing long conversations, shared meals, and the bittersweet joy of seeing his son grow up.
  • Emphasizes that “grief and anxiety are the receipts for love,” noting the mixture of reward and sadness in parenting milestones.

Notable Quotes:

• “The highlight… was the college tour with my son. What a nice question. Thank you.” (Scott Galloway, 10:11)
• “Kind of grief and anxiety are the receipts for love. And I’m feeling some of that…” (Scott Galloway, 09:55)

3. Hiring Great People as a Small Business

(Starts at 14:11)

• Recognizing Team Importance:

  • Scott repeats his maxim: “Greatness is in the agency of others.”
  • Acknowledges the challenge for small, lesser-known companies to attract top talent.

• Hiring Approach:

  • Leans heavily on reference hiring (hiring based on trusted recommendations), sharing a story of Joanna Coles recommending Edward Elson:
    • “She basically said, you gotta hire this guy. And if somebody I trust calls me and says, you gotta hire this person, I’ll hire them.” (Scott Galloway, 15:23)

• Strategy for Small Businesses:

  • Constantly spread the word that you’re hiring—don’t wait for people to come to you.
  • Seek out great people proactively and make contact, expressing your admiration and interest.
  • When hiring, give new team members responsibility, growth opportunities, and—importantly—equity/ownership to incentivize commitment.
  • Be transparent with employees about the company’s strategy and their personal growth trajectory within it.

• Retention Success:

  • At his own firm, Prop G Media, notes very low voluntary turnover as a sign that these methods work.

Notable Quotes:

• “If I get a really strong reference hire from someone who either works with us or someone I trust, that person has got kind of a 80, 90% lock on the job.” (Scott Galloway, 15:54)
• “The only way to get them to act like owners is to make them owners.” (Scott Galloway, 16:45)

Memorable Moments and Tone

• Personal Vulnerability:
  Scott slows the pace for weighty subjects—loss of loved ones, parenting emotions, and the ethical side of business platform responsibilities.
• Signature Humor:
  “I just decided I’m going to be the mayor of Melbourne, Australia. I think I could move. I think I’d be big in Melbourne.” (14:41)
• Directness & Openness on Flaws:
  Scott is transparent about money anxieties, missed investment expectations, and the emotional complexity of professional and personal life—a relatable mix of ambition and candor.

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:56 – Listener question on Joe Rogan and Scott’s full response on podcast culture and COVID-19 misinformation
• 07:25 – Year-end reflections: professional and personal highs and lows
• 14:11 – Listener question and advice on hiring great people for small businesses
• 10:11 & 09:55 – Emotional highlight: college tour with son, thoughts on parenting and love

Summary Table

| Topic | Start Time | Key Takeaways | |----------------------|---------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | Joe Rogan, Podcasting| 01:56 | Praise for innovation, criticism for COVID platform failures | | Year-End Reflections | 07:25 | Successes (book, tour), failures (investments, loss) | | Hiring Great People | 14:11 | Reference hiring, equity, employee growth, outreach |

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode provides a rich blend of Scott Galloway’s direct business advice, personal storytelling, and ethical reflection. You’ll hear why Scott admires Joe Rogan but draws a moral line around platform responsibility; get an honest account of a year’s accomplishments and struggles; and discover why reference hiring and employee ownership are at the heart of building great teams—even for scrappy startups.

Both new and returning listeners will appreciate Scott’s mix of humor, vulnerability, and practical insights, delivered in his unmistakable voice.