Pivot
Davos Drama, DOGE's Social Security Scandal, and Netflix Goes All-Cash for Warner Bros
23 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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By the way, you look fantastic, let me just say.
You know, unfortunately, Cara, my iPhone, when I opened it, still, the Apple Face ID still works.
Mm-hmm. Hi, everyone. This is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Kara Swisher, and I just scooped out my litter, and Scott is in swanky Switzerland. This is the state of our relationship.
I was with your first wife just a few minutes ago.
I heard she's swanning around there. How's it going?
Yeah, one of my favorite things is this thing called She Knows.
Oh, female quotient.
They invite me because they know dudes will show up and they like to have dudes at their stuff.
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Chapter 2: What are the highlights from the recent Davos conference?
I think you would hate it here.
I do hate it here. Last time I was there with Megan when I was married to her. And like you, she got one of those weird global leaders of tomorrow's yesterday, whatever, the yonder young entrepreneurs. And this was a million years ago. And I went as a wife and I hated every fucking second of it. And I'm sure it's worse now.
You know what it is? It's the least sexy place in... It's the least sexy gathering in the world. It's like at the sex appeal of like a Marriott lobby. Yeah. It's just... It's just... It's rough here. It's...
Give me an overview. Besides, let me just make a point. It's been 34 days since the deadline passed for the U.S. Justice Department to release the Epstein files. I just want to note that, just to add that in. But go ahead, tell me, what's the vibe in the place where they pretend things are normal?
Okay, so first off, the last time I was here was 1999. I was here 26 years ago. I don't know if you know this about me, but I peaked early.
Similar timeframe for me.
Yeah, I was there 26 years ago. The vibe then was- Hopeful. It was about the Internet. America was about cooperation and consumerism. There was really optimism like I want more. It was very consumer, if you will. Now I'd say the vibe is one AI, everything's AI. I was one of these guys running around trying to pitch my startup Red Envelope or my e-commerce incubator to everybody.
Now everyone's pitching everyone on AI startups. And the American brand, which is meant to be the operating system here, I think, is really about coercion and chaos right now. And the vibe- And arrogance.
Arrogance is what I'm detecting.
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Chapter 3: How is DOGE mishandling Social Security data?
He did away with the tariffs he threatened earlier in the week, so we come across. Taco. We just come across as just, we're a baby with an AR-15, is how we come across right now.
So is it worth it for you to be there? You look like you wanted to get out and I needed to helicopter in and get you, but was it worth it? Is it worth it?
Well, so I'm name dropping. I said, no. And then Larry Fink called me and asked me to come and said, you know, he was very nice to me and said, this will be a good audience for you. I got to give it to him. This is, according to people who've been here for 30 years, the best of us yet in terms of the quality or the power, I would say, of the people. Elon Musk felt left out.
He's flying in this afternoon to give a speech. Heads of state, senators, the thing that embodied how powerful the people are, I literally saw Lindsey Graham walking around looking for someone to talk to. He looked lonely and he was trying to find someone to talk to him. So everyone's here. And by the way, you wanna hear serious vibe, serious juju, serious mojo, serious riz.
Fucking Governor Newsom is walking around like he is the next president. And guess what? Everyone believes him. He has an entourage of people. He has some, I'm not exaggerating, it's like there's light shining on the guy. He was, I walked down, I walked down, I had one of those, this was a nice moment for me. I have a big ego like everyone else.
I walked down into the Congress Hall and there was a crowd of people around this guy. And no matter how big the crowd is, you see him like he's fucking Rihanna standing on Arnold Schwarzenegger's shoulders. He just, it's like God, he's like he's the chosen one. And then he stops and comes over, catches my eye, and he hugs me.
I feel like one time this guy, the coolest guy in my junior high school, Andy Lauer, who I didn't think knew I was alive. I did a comedy sketch at the talent show on Laurel and Hardy. And he came up in a class and he's like, Gail, you're the funniest. And he high-fived me. And for a day, I was the most important person I'd ever met. Okay, okay. I'm so happy.
It was like the cool kid high-fives you. Yeah. Anyways, came over, hugged me. Yeah, he told me. He texted me.
He texted me that he saw you. I'm just texting with everybody. I was like haranguing Mark Benioff. I'm just texting everybody there.
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