Nov 8, 2026 · 1h 16m
Media’s New Power Struggle Runs Through Washington and Silicon Valley
Stephen Miller’s Promotion, Big Tech’s Reality Check, and Guest Harvey Levin
The episode connects political radicalization, economic anxiety, and platform disruption to a broader fight over who controls public life and prosperity.
- 1TMZ’s Washington expansion reflects how political reporting now competes with celebrity culture and participatory platforms.
- 2Stephen Miller’s rising influence raises questions about institutional guardrails as Democrats search for an economic message.
- 3AI valuations, data-center backlash, and Elon Musk’s retreat expose growing resistance to concentrated technology power.
Don't miss
Harvey Levin recounts how viral vacation photos of members of Congress helped trigger TMZ’s rapid Washington operation.
The brief
Harvey Levin joins Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway to explain why TMZ moved into Washington: political news increasingly travels through celebrity logic, conversation, and social platforms.
Levin argues that television and traditional websites are legacy formats, while TikTok, YouTube, creators, and cheaper production have made media more participatory and less centralized.
The political turn is darker as the hosts assess Stephen Miller’s expanding influence, weaker guardrails around Donald Trump, and Democrats’ need to pair investigations with concrete affordability policies.
The episode’s economic argument targets the transfer of prosperity from workers and consumers to corporate owners, with proposals spanning taxation, antitrust, housing, and Social Security.
Its sharpest technology question arrives with data-center backlash and AI-market anxiety: can voters reclaim leverage over Silicon Valley before regulation simply strengthens incumbents?
Elon Musk’s political and business troubles become a closing case study in how concentrated wealth can lose influence when public resistance, markets, and accountability converge.
Books & mentions
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