Pivot

Kara and Scott talk about stimulus packages and possible emergency checks to deal with the US economic crisis. We hear a bite from Andrew Yang about why implementing universal basic income in this situation is the next phase of capitalism. As Israel joins Iran and China in using data location to stop the spread of COVID-19, Kara and Scott talk about whether this is a move the United States should...

Kara and Scott talk about the announced public/private partnerships between major companies and the federal government. They discuss the Trump administration’s misinformation about a Google website that will be developed to triage Covid-19 cases. They touch on changes at Facebook’s board, Kenneth Chenault is the latest to depart. In Friends of Pivot, we hear from a person living under quarantine i...

Kara and Scott talk about COVID-19, what tech could do to help, and what we need to see from leadership. We hear from Ron Klain, who was the "Ebola czar" under the Obama administration about why we need COVID-19 tests and what the hold up is in getting them. In other news, Kara and Scott discuss this week's Congressional hearing on antitrust and why Yelp thinks Google's search results are biased t...

Kara and Scott talk about the deal reached at Twitter, the fate of Jack Dorsey and his tenure as CEO. They discuss how big tech companies have been stepping up to take care of gig-workers as COVID-19 spreads; Silicon Valley's approach has been drastically different from the government's, thus far. Facebook takes some action on misleading Trump campaign ads connected to the 2020 Census ... but Kara...

Kara and Scott talk about the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts and big banks asking for deregulation. They talk through how COVID-19 may halt the economy. They discuss Facebook's redesign of Libra -- their cryptocurrency and how other coins are faring in the face of COVID-19. In Listener Mail we hear from G/O Media reporter Dhruv Mehrotra about his recent investigation into how Better Help pro...

.Kara and Scott talk about the stock market's recent lows -- and how that may be a good thing for millennials. They speculate about Jack Dorsey's tenure as CEO at Twitter as activist investors grab a chunk of the company. Then, we hear from Friend of Pivot, and New York Times tech reporter, Kevin Roose about election technology. Kara, Scott and Kevin discuss whether elections are best left analog...

Kara and Scott speculate about what is happening at Disney following Bob Iger's abrupt exit. They talk about the stock market's tumble in reaction to coronavirus. Scott breaks down which companies should be on the offense and which ones should be on the defense... and why he thinks Peleton may be one of the companies that see a spike during the coronavirus scare. In wins and fails, Kara thinks Har...

Kara and Scott talk about the spread of coronavirus and how it is affecting the global supply chain. They discuss Bernie Sanders' win in Nevada and what that means for the economy. Morgan Stanley bought E*Trade, so the hosts talk about the end of at home trading as we know it. Plus, they give updates on what we know about the Saudi moles who stole user information at Twitter. In Friend of Pivot, K...

Kara and Scott have a lot of thoughts about the Nevada debate and how the candidates should be marketing themselves. In Listener Mail, we get a question about how Warren Buffet invests his billions versus what Jeff Bezos does with his fortune. They talk about Bezos' new pledge to donate $10 billion to fight climate change. In predictions, Scott thinks Zoom stock will benefit from coronavirus and t...

Kara and Scott talk about the big players in Silicon Valley headed to the EU where they are debating new regulations on artificial intelligence. In more foreign affairs and tech, they talk about the US bringing charges against Huawei for federal racketeering. Airbnb was once a rare profitable "unicorn", but now, ahead of their expected IPO, they're in the red; Kara and Scott talk about how and whe...

Kara and Scott talk about what it means for Amazon to be paying (minimal) taxes, as Jeff Bezos is "going Hollywood", and the company battles with the government over JEDI. They also revisit Google's quiet dismissal of top executives -- the company's longtime head of HR left this week. This week, the FTC ordered the big tech companies -- Facebook, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple -- to hand over in...

Kara and Scott talk about The Oscar's and how the award is being rebranded. They discuss Uber's most recent earnings call and whether or not they'll actually be profitable next year. Kara thinks that while the January jobs report showed employment is up, it is a poor marker of success because of wage stagnation. In Friends of Pivot, New York Times columnist and Squawk Box host Andrew Ross Sorkin c...

Kara and Scott talk about technical difficulties at the Iowa caucuses. They disagree about whether Sheryl Sandberg's engagement announcement was a PR stunt or a personal moment. In listener mail they answer a question about One Medical's IPO and other concierge care companies poised to disrupt healthcare. Kara's win is Spotify acquiring The Ringer. Scott's fail is Casper's IPO. In predictions, Sco...

Kara and Scott talk about IBM's new CEO as the company struggles to keep up with cloud computing. They also discuss Zuckerberg's "new approach to social media", and breakdown Amazon's major earnings. In "Friends of Pivot" Jon Lovett, host of the Crooked Media podcast "Lovett or Leave It" says we should be prepared for the Trump campaign's major ad push. In wins and fails, Kara remembers Leila Jana...

Kara and Scott talk about the Congressional Budget Office projecting that the U.S. budget deficit will pass the $1 trillion threshold in 2020. They also get into tech earnings, who did well last quarter, and what we can expect going forward. In listener mail, Kara and Scott talk about Huawei Britain defying Trump's plea to ban their plans for 5G expansion. Kara's win is Michael Bloomberg's ad camp...

Kara and Scott talk about the spread of coronavirus and how it is affecting China. They discuss how the story of Kobe Bryant's tragic death played out on Twitter. Also, YouTube is now having their moderators sign a release acknowledging they could get PTSD from doing the work... Kara has thoughts. In listener mail, we get a question about players in the co-working space and how they are strategizi...

Scott co-hosts with Erica Anderson (Pivot's indomitable Executive Producer!) and they talk about the Saudi's hacking Jeff Bezos' phone. They talk about how Amazon has the power of its own nation and the implications of that. They talk Apple encryption part II, after a Reuters story revealed that the company had ended its plan to encrypt the iCloud at the request of the FBI. In listener mail, a for...

Kara talk about Google becoming the world's fourth trillion-dollar company ... and who is actually paying taxes on all of it? They discuss world leaders congregating at Davos. Donald Trump will be speaking as the Senate impeachment trial starts. In Friend of Pivot, Executive Producer and founder of "The Black List", Franklin Leonard says that with the influx of big tech companies producing films t...

Kara and Scott argue about whether the government should have the right to hack into phones of suspected criminals. In a reversal of strategy the historically secretive National Security Agency alerted Microsoft to a vulnerability in its operating system -- Scott think it's a brilliant branding move. In listener mail, Kara and Scott answer a computer science student's question about how to teach e...

Kara and Scott talk about Casper's S-1 and how it compares to other internet retail companies like Away and Warby Parker. We also get a rant out of Scott on Softbank's latest fail: their hotel chain OYO let-go a huge percent of their staff in Asia. In Friend of Pivot we hear from New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi about whether Congress or Twitter has more power to reign in Trump. In wins and...

Kara and Scott talk about Facebook's decision not to change their political ad policies. They also discuss Facebook banning "deep fakes" and Teen Vogue's confusion over a Facebook sponsored content article. Kara has a rant for Facebook VP, Andrew Bosworth, about his Lord of the Rings reference and op-ed. In Listener Mail we hear from an Australian asking about big tech's response to natural disast...

Kara and Scott talk about how Trump has been escalating US conflict with Iran on Twitter. They also discuss how politics were downplayed at the Golden Globes, but big tech took a lot of snark -- especially from our favorite rebel Sascha Baron Cohen. Kara's win is Richard Plepler, the former CEO/Chairman of HBO moving his production company to Apple. In fails, it turns out that New York City offere...

Kara and Scott are back to talk about a suite of new regulations in California that will give consumers agency over their data and gig workers more protection. They also talk about Tesla's big stock spike. In fails, Sharon Stone was kicked off the Bumble dating app. And Kara brings some optimistic predictions to the show -- she thinks handheld phone devices will be a thing of the past by 2030. Lea...

Kara and Scott look back at the 2010s and the biggest stories of the decade with the help of some friends. With cameos from Colorado Senator Michael Bennett, Girls Who Code Founder/CEO Reshma Saujani, and Former HBO CEO/Chairman Richard Plepler, they break down the moments in tech, leadership, politics and media that defined the time. Plus Kara and Scott reflect on some of their own personal growt...

Kara and Scott talk about what impeachment might mean for business. Also they talk about Peter Thiel's influence behind the scenes at Facebook and their political ad policies. Meanwhile, SoftBank is on an on-going disaster. A personal win for Kara is Amazon banning third-party sellers from using FedEx (after her recent tweet-storm). Which brings Scott to predict that FedEx will get acquired in the...