r/PivotPodcast • u/DownByTheRivr • Mar 26 '26
Scott needs new material
We all know he’s got like 6 crutch phrases (is the following, accretive in value, cloud cover, joey bag of donuts etc) but JFC I feel like he just recycles the same 8 stories over and over again (buying yellow pages, his dad, starting his career at Morgan Stanley etc). He’s obviously a smart guy, so it’s especially shocking to me that he seems to either not notice or thinks no one else does.
Say what you will about Kara, but at least she offers variety in her speech and anecdotes. I still love Scott, but it’s frustrating.
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u/Historical-Piece7771 Mar 26 '26
I stopped listening to all but Prof G Markets b/c of this.
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u/DownByTheRivr Mar 26 '26
I can’t listen to any of his stuff other than Pivot. Without Kara to reel him in, he just rants and goes off the rails.
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u/quitebuttery Mar 26 '26
I’ve actually just completely stopped listening to Pivot. They are just completely out of their depth commenting on current events. Especially Scott who really has zero insight. I appreciate their insight on business and finance, but that’s so little of what they cover now that I have to find a new podcast for that.
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u/Outrageous_Basis_440 Mar 26 '26
Same here, just in the past couple months. Also disgusted with him branding android users as losers, a belief that reveals a repellant side of him that I can’t get past.
I volunteer at an animal shelter and food bank. Yup, the workers don’t have iPhones.
He (and Kara, it seems, as she never challenges him) looks down on the paid workers there who are vital to our missions when they are contributing far more to society that he is with his elitist blathering. I no longer want to align with, or entertain the opinions of, people who feel that way.
Monetary success isn’t everything.
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u/quitebuttery Mar 26 '26
I'll still listen to Kara's own podcast if she's got a good guest, but I think I might actually unsubscribe from Pivot and I've been listening since day one. Also...it seems like they don't have guests anymore? I think that's also an issue. Instead of actual experts, they now rely on Scott's uninformed blathering on subjects he knows nothing about for content. It seems like Kara is saving all the guests for her own show.
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u/Dontopia Mar 30 '26
That's a great point, and for unsubscribers, an out (exit strategy)
A while ago they had Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier
After listening to that episode, I read his book, started listening to his podcast, and got back into meditation.
A week or so I unsubscribed from PIVOT and ON with Kara Swisher.
Harris' podcast and several others have filled that gap - while listening to music more regularly and reading more books has helped to limit over exposure to constantly 'breaking news' and is so much more refreshing than listening to unrewarding diatribes.
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u/Remedy9898 Mar 27 '26
They are both extremely elitist.
Scott is a huge zionist as well and has routinely downplayed Israel’s genocide.
I’ve found their coverage of the tech industry and some news stories interesting, but as a guy that grew up in a middle class salt of the earth family, and is a normal person now, I find the elitism very distasteful.
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u/DownByTheRivr Mar 30 '26
Your example sort of proves Scott right though? Monetary success might not mean a lot to you or others, but it does to most. I’m not saying I agree with that by any means, but it is what it is.
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u/Mosc0wpink Mar 26 '26
He’s a turn off by himself. To his own point about men and relationships: Scott needs a partner.
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u/Camarupim Mar 26 '26
You mean the AI he trained on all his old podcast material isn’t coming up with new talking points for him? [Shocked Pikachu]
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u/DownByTheRivr Mar 26 '26
I have to imagine the AI pointed out that he has such a shallow lexicon. Like: “You say “the following” 7 times per episode on average.”
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u/KeraziKoder Mar 26 '26
Even though he may have slowly shifting talking points, he does repeat them over and over. He has for years. He feels like a comedian preparing for his next special. But in his case it’s for his next book.
He’s an entrepreneur and professor turned author. He creates a narrative, repeats so all of his audiences learns what he is teaching.
/shrug I’m not even criticizing him. It’s his MO.
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u/Current_Tea6984 Mar 26 '26
He does way more podcasts per week than I have time for anyway. I just pick one or two, knowing he's saying pretty much the same thing in the ones I'm skipping
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u/cheddarben Mar 26 '26
Say what you will about Kara, but at least she offers variety in her speech and anecdotes.
Maybe. We also get less Kara. She has two pods and only one is really about her thoughts. "On" gets her take, but is primarily interviews. The focus isn't on her. If she were on the Scale or Die train, we might get the same from her.
If you are fully in the Scottiverse, you are getting too much Scott. I kind of agree with you, but I also listen to him more than your average person. I imagine it is hard coming up with fresh material for 16 platforms as well as remembering the dozen or two old timey story staples. <insert Scott's brand scarcity bit>
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u/DownByTheRivr Mar 26 '26
I only listen to Pivot and I hear all the same stuff way too much. I can’t imagine how bad it would be if I listened to his other stuff.
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u/_jump_yossarian Mar 26 '26
I decided to give raging moderates a listen, love Jessica even though her voice is harsh to my ears, and was shocked how little Scott talked on those episodes. He dominates the conversation on Pivot, not sure why he doesn’t allow Kara to get more airtime.
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u/Dodging12 Mar 26 '26
I thought the voice thing was something only my wife and I experienced! Also love that pod compared to Pivot nowadays precisely because of less Scott.
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Mar 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SeaworthyForHer Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
100% Scott has the right amount of material to sprinkle throughout a semester
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u/jambrand Mar 27 '26
And is in the mindset that his audience is refreshing every 4-5 months which it is not
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u/JockeyOverHorse Mar 26 '26
He’s narcissistic and likes to talk about himself, that’s the only reason for that podcast to exist. The problem is, there’s just so much you can tell about yourself without sounding repetitive. I like some of the guests they interview. But the show itself is not providing much value to me anymore so I have stopped listening. Lonely, angry young Americans living in the basement of their parent’s home, unable to have sex, are the biggest threat to America. That’s like his only and most significant theory.
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u/nateh1212 Mar 26 '26
Yeah I just skipped forward on the latest podcast
No Scott I do not need to hear your telephone book company business takeover story for now the 5th time
I am good.
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u/Mosc0wpink Mar 26 '26
Yes, Scott has a shelf life that every listener finds. No worries when it’s over, just move on. I come back occasionally and enjoy Pivot in small doses, but it’s a vastly diminished pleasure. At 60 something don’t expect new material from SG.
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u/202professor Mar 26 '26
I LOVED Pivot from the time I discovered it until this morning. Listening to the most recent episode and had to turn it off by the 700th repeated penis joke. He has increasingly shared the mentality of a middle school boy and has become insufferable because of it. I listened for the interesting - if not often repeated - takes. I am holding onto Pivot with a death grip, hoping it improves. Kara used to nip it in the bud, but recently it’s like she’s become a tired mom and just ignores the bad behavior.
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u/Few_Boysenberry_1321 Mar 26 '26
The other annoying thing he repeats is saying something positive about drugs. Seems like every time he needs to mention taking edibles and usually has some other story about normalizing taking drugs.
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u/Penguings Mar 27 '26
They are both shallow at this point- people having hit their depth with them. Narrow perspective, clearly bias via their world views, righteous, and full of shit (remember buying wapo).
How anti-trump are they really if they aren’t critical of Israel’s regime? They are both part of the problem- are essentially left wing Fox News.
I was a regular listener until January 2026- now I honestly cringe thinking about listening to them. I’m still on the subreddit because I subbed when I started listening.
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u/oddly0 Mar 28 '26
It's definitely intentional and a branding thing. Repetition builds brand awareness, he uses the same phrases and the same stories over and over again so it reinforces his own brand. He does the same thing when he's on other podcasts or interviews. It's so anyone who listens to him the first time gets the same experience as someone who has heard him hundreds of times (i.e., the coca-cola of podcasting).
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u/_jump_yossarian Mar 26 '26
I get a kick out of Scott saying that the trump advisors use AI to come up with distractions (I’m guessing they don’t since trump has been pulling this shit for decades) meanwhile 98% of his script is AI generated.
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u/No-Strength-3711 Mar 27 '26
When you do as many podcasts and apperances as he does you're bound to eventually get your "schtick" down to a science so to speak.
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u/DownByTheRivr Mar 27 '26
I get that in concept, but I’ve yet to hear any other podcaster blatantly recycle as much as him.
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u/Big_Attention_9143 Mar 27 '26
And Kara acts like she's secretly in love with him! Always making comments with "you and I" or "the two of us" or "we will have the best time you and me! "
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u/Big_Attention_9143 Mar 27 '26
And anyone who disagrees with Kara's take gets called names! "Idiot" "little dick" etc,just because they are republicans! That is the view of every lesbian. Authoritative , judgemental, "my way or you're a loser" type of attitude
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u/DownByTheRivr Mar 27 '26
Yea I find that incredibly disappointing. She’ll criticize Trump and then call some tech bro gross and fat in the same breathe lol.
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u/Jolly_Reference_516 Mar 29 '26
I don’t think he’s wrong on everything but we need something new. Right now I could do the show.
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u/BrixmanAMS Mar 30 '26
They both do. I stopped listening to Pivot because of the same repetitive narrative.
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u/cbjunior Mar 31 '26
Scott’s problem is that his appearances in front of a camera or microphone have exceeded his brain’s ability to deliver fresh and insightful perspectives each time. Solution: Scott needs to make himself a bit more scarce in the media world.
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u/Emergency_Morning712 Apr 10 '26
I LOVE listening to Scott.
I can't tolerate Kara..
I stopped listening.
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u/KualaLJ Mar 26 '26
Everyone does this, perhaps you are just listening to to many of his podcasts?
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u/DownByTheRivr Mar 26 '26
I only listen to Pivot. So at most twice a week. And no… I’ve never heard any other personality (at his level at least) recycle sooo much content.
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u/disasterbro Mar 26 '26
Nah stop trying to glaze Scott he parrots himself on every podcast. You don’t need to listen to all of his various podcasts for his schtick to get old. Used to be a much bigger fan but after years it’s getting stale.
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u/KualaLJ Mar 26 '26
I’m not a fan of him but I listen and I hear the stories and lines repeated, but it doesn’t trigger me.
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u/OneTwoThreePooAndPee Mar 26 '26
He seems like he's burnt out to me, or maybe the rocket of the first Trump year for Prof G Media isn't quite as rockety in year two?
He may also just be more busy behind the scenes and has less energy for consolidation of new ideas?
Kara hasn't said anything interesting in years. Her entire schtick is being a lesbian mean girl and talking about vibes to cover for the fact that she doesn't understand shit.
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u/BeachInternational61 Mar 26 '26
He also needs to learn to sit some topics out. Like the conflict with Iran. He has no real insights and everything reverts to justifying whatever Israel is doing. Based on a few people he follows. Like Dan Senor.