The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

Scott’s Thoughts on Joe Rogan, Year-End Reflections, and Hiring Great People

December 19, 2025

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  • Scott Galloway will not appear on The Joe Rogan Experience due to Spotify and Joe Rogan's perceived recklessness in not matching platform influence with fact-checking, especially concerning COVID-19 misinformation, which personally impacted him. 
  • Professionally, Scott Galloway's year-end highlights included his book, "Notes on being a man," hitting number one on the New York Times bestseller list and a successful live Pivot tour, while the lowlight was disappointing investment returns, particularly from a Bitcoin Treasury company. 
  • The most effective way to hire great people, especially for small businesses, is through strong personal referrals, giving equity to incentivize ownership, and explicitly mapping out a multi-year path for professional and financial development for new hires. 

Segments

Sponsor Messages and Podcast Intro
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: The episode begins with advertisements for Northwest Registered Agent, Bit Defender, and Thumbtack before transitioning into the ‘Office Hours’ Q&A segment.
  • Summary: Sponsors for this portion of The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway include services for business registration, cybersecurity, and hiring home professionals. The official Q&A segment, ‘Office Hours,’ starts shortly after the initial advertisements conclude.
Thoughts on Joe Rogan
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(00:02:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Scott Galloway credits Joe Rogan with pioneering modern podcast culture, which he views as generally ‘gentler’ and less focused on ‘gotcha’ moments, but criticizes the platform’s failure to match influence with fact-checking regarding COVID-19 science.
  • Summary: Galloway believes Rogan blew open the podcasting medium and set a tone where hosts try to present guests in their best light. He cites Vice President Harris’s failure to appear on the show as a strategic mistake for maximizing exposure. His primary issue is the false equivalence created when debunked claims about vaccines are presented alongside expert opinions, leading to negative public health outcomes.
Year-End Professional Reflections
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(00:07:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Professional highlights for the year included achieving a number one New York Times bestseller with his book and successfully hosting a seven-city live tour for Pivot, while the professional lowlight was underperforming financially due to flat stock performance and losses in a Bitcoin Treasury company investment.
  • Summary: The book, ‘Notes on being a man,’ reaching number one was a significant personal and professional reward, as he had never achieved that rank before. The live podcast tour hosted 15,000 people across seven venues, which was unexpectedly rewarding. Despite business strength, investment returns were disappointing, making him feel like he was the only one not making money this year.
Year-End Personal Reflections
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(00:08:29)
  • Key Takeaway: The most difficult personal event was the passing of his 95-year-old father, which stirred complicated emotions, but the year’s highlight was a ten-day college tour with his oldest son, which was both rewarding and melancholy.
  • Summary: The death of his father, though expected at age 95, brought up complex emotions related to their relationship. The college tour with his son, visiting seven towns, provided significant quality time and highlighted the bittersweet nature of watching a child grow up and become independent. Galloway views grief and anxiety as the ‘receipts for love.’
Sponsor Messages Break
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(00:10:47)
  • Key Takeaway: Sponsors during this break included Groons (nutritional gummies) and Chime (banking services offering early pay access and credit building tools).
  • Summary: Groons offers a comprehensive gummy supplement containing prebiotic fiber, positioning itself as a convenient way to fill nutritional gaps during the holidays. Chime promotes its fee-free banking, early access to paychecks via MyPay, and its secured credit card for building credit history.
Crucible Moments Podcast Ad
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(00:13:03)
  • Key Takeaway: The Crucible Moments podcast, hosted by Ronovbutta of Sequoia Capital, examines the make-or-break pivot points of major tech companies like Zipline and Bolt.
  • Summary: The podcast focuses on critical moments where startups either succeeded or failed based on their decision to pivot or double down on strategy. This season features interviews with key players from companies such as Bolt, Zipline, and Supercell.
Hiring Great People Advice
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(00:14:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Small businesses attract great talent by prioritizing reference hiring over traditional interviewing, actively spreading the word they are looking, and ensuring top hires become owners through equity and clear financial/responsibility roadmaps.
  • Summary: Galloway strongly advocates for hiring people recommended by trusted sources, citing the example of hiring Ed Elson based on a strong endorsement. He suggests proactively reaching out to talented individuals, even if they are not actively looking, to get on their radar. To retain top talent, employers must make them owners and explicitly detail their expected growth trajectory over the next three years financially and in terms of responsibility.
Final Sponsor Messages and Outro
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(00:18:00)
  • Key Takeaway: The episode concludes with final sponsor messages from MongoDB, LinkedIn Ads, and Mercury, focusing on AI development, targeted B2B advertising, and banking for entrepreneurs, respectively.
  • Summary: MongoDB is sponsoring a series on The Vergecast discussing the AI gold rush and whether AI makes sense everywhere. LinkedIn Ads offers a credit incentive for new campaigns targeting decision-makers by job title and industry. Mercury provides banking services designed for entrepreneurs, emphasizing effortless financial moves like international wires and business loans.