My mom used to tell me when my dad would

come pick me up every other weekend when

he was still living in LA. Tell your

father. I was eight. Tell your father if

the child support check isn't here by

Tuesday, I'm calling his boss and

telling him that he's a deadbeat dad. I

would digest my entire stomach the

entire weekend knowing I had to tell my

dad this. And I would finally wait till

the last 5 minutes before he dropped me

off and I tell him. My dad woulding

freak out and say, "Tell that [ __ ] I'm

not sending the check." And I'd have to

walk back into my $200 apartment with my

mom in Tarzana in the valley and say,

"Dad said, tell the [ __ ] that he's not

sending child." I mean, it was just my

parents had a lot of good qualities, but

sophistication and understanding the

nuance of divorce and kids was not one

of them. In today's office hours, we

discuss why podcasts are moving to

video, how to get hired after 50, and

navigating divorce with kids. Question

number one, first question comes from

Solar Surfer 7. Right on, dude. On

Reddit, they say, "I just had an

epiphany that podcasts are moving to

video, not because people want to watch

full-length podcasts on video because it

gives you short clips that can go viral

on apps, including Tik Tok and

Instagram, and thus landing more

subscribers. Do you agree with this

take? Have you seen a higher growth on

the podcast after moving to video

format? Uh, thanks for the question. So,

just some data. According to Spotify,

42% of podcast listeners discover new

shows through social media channels like

Instagram, Tik Tok, and Facebook. So

word the clips on video platforms are

fantastic means of marketing. That's

reason enough to do it on its own, but

it's not the primary reason. I'll come

back to that. Consumer surveys show that

almost half of users on Instagram, Tik

Tok, or YouTube shorts watch podcast

through short clips. The same study

found that one-third of consumers engage

with podcasts by watching video clips on

social media. An industry report by

Edison Media found that 80% or

four-fifths. Isn't that amazing? I can

do that in my head. 80% four-fifths.

What a guy. What a guy. Anyways, of Gen

Z podcast listeners discovered new shows

via Tik Tok. But even beyond short

clips, there's also evidence that people

are engaging more with podcast visually.

Roughly half of Americans aed 12 and

over, 51% have watched a podcast.

Spotify reports that one in three US

monthly active users engage with video

podcasts. Okay. Every year I like to

have for the business a strategic

mandate. Our strategic mandate in 2025

was the same as 2024 and that was in one

word video. There are 600,000 podcasts

that put out weekly content, 1.5 million

podcasts in total. I bet the top 600 are

the only ones that are economically

viable. I'm not even sure the 500th most

listened to podcast is economically

viable. The top 100 are amazing

businesses because once you get beyond a

certain point, the gross margin or the

incremental revenue is almost all

margin. These things aren't that

expensive to produce. If you look at the

top 100 podcasts, you're going to see or

have seen just in every 12 or 24 months

50 rotate in and 50 turn out.

Essentially, the problem with Hollywood

is the following. It's the means of

production has become too expensive. And

that is if you want to film a series,

and I'm doing this right now, we're

doing this original scripted drama on

Netflix. Jesus Christ, between unions,

talent, the caterer, the foam

supervisor, the food design. Oh my god,

it is a lot of money. And uh I'll use Co

Bear as an example. I think Stephen Coar

is one of the great talents in media.

His show supposedly costs 100 million to

produce and makes 60 million because

fewer and fewer people are watching late

night television. The amount of people

watching late night television is off by

90%. People aren't watching linear TV.

They're not watching the clips as much.

They actually that's not true. They'll

watch the best 60 seconds of any of

those shows. But that's not enough to

sustain the business model. Basically,

the business model has been starched by

those video players you're talking

about. And they do get something back in

terms of what you're talking about in

terms of marketing. But the churn in and

out is the arbiter of that churn is who

has the best video game. And this is

what's happening. Coar will eventually

move to podcasting and all of the band

the union players will probably get on

the arc to podcast and he'll be able to

have an amazing podcast not doing 100

million but maybe doing 10 or 20 million

with six people instead of the 200

people that currently work on his show.

And it's going to make you know 10

million in profits off that 20 million

because he's such an extraordinary

talent. But basically what are podcasts?

Podcasts are 80% of television shows in

terms of product and uh production

quality for 10% of the price. That's

what podcasts are and that is the really

well done podcasts feel like television

but they don't need to make 40 60 $100

million to be sustainable. They need to

make a lot less because the means of

production are so less expensive. I'll

use Pivot as an example. Pivot is

between our audio listens about 300,000

and our video views a 100,000. So

400,000 impressions, we'll get a

blended, you get a lower CPM for the

video views. Uh audio creates more

intimacy and advertisers like it more.

We get a blended CPM probably about 30

to 40 bucks. 45 bucks for the audio

CPM's 30 bucks for the video. So call it

blended of 40. CNN right now is getting

15. Why? The average age I think of a

CNBC viewer is now well into their 60s.

So what do we have? What's the advantage

of podcast or a pivot? We have whereas

cable news 30% are in the core

demographic that is 25 to 54 year olds

who advertisers love because they're

stupid and they buy high margin Range

Rovers and coffees and go to movies

still they love those. And 30% of cable

news now is in the core demo. 70% of

listeners to pivot are in the core demo.

So if we do 400,000 we're getting about

280,000 in the core demo. The average

CNN program is lucky if it gets 40 or

60,000 people in the core demo. So what

are you getting here? You're getting the

great taste of more people in the core

demo, which advertisers love, with the

low calories of a much lower means of

production. So, if Pivot does 12 to 14

million this year in topline revenue,

which would be a modestly successful TV

show, not not a successful one, but the

difference is 8 or 10 of that will drop

to the bottom line. Now, we got to pay

Vox some money to sell our ads, but as

you can imagine, it's a very very

profitable business. But it's a little

bit like the NBA in the sense that

there's a couple million kids in playing

high school basketball and I think only

five are still in the NBA after three

years and they make an extraordinary

amount of money but your chances are

like almost the same like getting to go

into space someday. Podcasting somewhat

similar. The numbers I use, the analogy

I use is uh crew at UCLA. There's been

2,800 ORS men and ORS women in the

history of UCLA crew. I was one of them.

Thank you very much. Easily the worst

varsity athlete in the history of UCLA.

But anyways, 2,800 people uh have rode

crew at UCLA. 10 have gone to the

Olympics. So what is that?

Approximately.3%

conservatively, not conservatively,

generously.1% of podcasts make money. So

at UCLA rowing, I was three times more

likely to go to the Olympics than I was

to have an economically viable podcast.

So mama, don't let your kids grow up to

be podcasters. If you want to get into

podcasting, do it. but use it as a means

or start out initially thinking of it as

a means of marketing another core

product. For example, our videos

initially at L2 were meant to raise

awareness among our client base and we

did an amazing job of them and it

ultimately led to a newsletter that we

turned into a media company. See about

Propy Media. But right now, if you're

going into podcasting, you should be

doing it for personal consumption or to

market another product because the

economics or the likelihood of breaking

through to the top 100 are again sort of

like your kid may be an amazing

basketball player, which means there's

like a 1 in 5,000 chance that he will

end up with a sustainable income in the

NBA. And podcasting is somewhat similar.

Anyways, the clips, yeah, fantastic

marketing, but generally speaking, more

broadly speaking, podcasts are becoming

the new TV with a strong audio overlay.

So, we're all trying to raise or the

smart ones are investing more and more

in video. You're going to see more and

more podcasts on TV screens and you're

going to see more and more visual

graphics, production values, lighting,

all that stuff to try and level up.

Anyways, thoughtful question. Thank you.

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Question number two also comes from

Reddit. Dwyn Dolvac asks, "With the

average tenure of a job being about four

years, how can those of us in our early

to mid-50s who have been impacted by

layoffs but cannot yet retire convince

companies to take a chance on us? If I

hear you're overqualified once more, I'm

going to shove a Tik Tok up some

millennial Snapchat. Yeah. So, the way

you're feeling is real. There's some

data here. The job stability and the

disruption is being felt by people, I'm

going to say older, mid mid-career. A

major 2018 study found that more than

half of workers in the early 50s who had

long-term jobs were laid off after age

50. Many other struggle to find steady

work again or saw their pay drop by 50%

or more for years. So, first off, ask

yourself a question. Can you not get a

job or can you not get the job that you

expect that you should have right now?

You might have to take a cut and pay,

boss. And just back to the notion that

can you get a job or can you just not

get a job you want? No one ever thinks

they're overpaid. Nobody at Prof thinks

they're overpaid. And let me tell you,

they are. I'm on AI. I try to pay people

between 30 to 50% above market, but no

one thinks they're overpaid. They just

think, "Oh, okay. I won't leave." But no

one no one sits around and says, "Hey,

mom, I'm overpaid." No one ever feels

overpaid. And just statistically, and I

can prove this to you, 50% of the time

in your career you were overpaid and 50%

you were underpaid and almost 0% of the

time was calibrated exactly. And going

to the next job, the natural kind of

progression or instinct is, oh, I should

make next the same amount or more at my

next job. Maybe not. I think the

workplace has become increasingly agist

as I sit here with a swollen face from

my just having my eyes done. And it's

really strange. A lot of times when

people like my content, they reference

my age as a means of being critical. And

I remember at L2, I hired a systems

engineer who was, I think, in his 40s or

50s. And the vibe was, dude, what

happened? I think if you're in

technology and you're a male and you're

in your 40s or 50s and you're not

running the place, you're not already a

multi-millionaire. The general view is

like, oh my god, you [ __ ] up. I think

you're just going to see a boom in

cosmetic surgery and Botox and all that

[ __ ] amongst men who are feeling the

same ages and women have had to endure

for a long time. You're in a tough spot.

I don't want to sugarcoat it. And I also

think that the hard part about looking

for a job in your 50s is you're not

willing to eat as much [ __ ] My

companies right now would be more

successful if I were more aggressive and

less arrogant. And my arrogance has been

a bit of a function of my age. And that

is I think I could go out and get a

million dollars in incremental

advertising if I was willing to go have

dinner or not play golf but socialize

with ad buyers or brands or I CMOs reach

out to me all the time. Let's get

together. I'm like I don't want to hang

out with you. I'm going hang out with my

kids. And I don't feel I don't do pre-

calls. I know I'm boasting right now,

but it's true. I don't take advantage of

98% of the opportunities thrown my way

because I'm at a point in my life where

I'm like I'm just not willing to hang

out with some 35 or 40year-old that I

want to hang out with. I find that the

key to getting a job is how social you

are. Study done at Google, they put out

a job opening, 200 CVs within like 60

minutes, they shut it down. Uh they

bring in the 20 best candidates and 70%

of the time the person they end up

hiring has an internal advocate. So one,

a boss, if you're in your 50s, it

doesn't matter if you're in your 50s or

your 20s, the advice you would give your

22-year-old self, you got to make a

bunch of calls. You got to get out a big

spoon and eat [ __ ] Call people you

don't want to call. Follow up, which

sucks when you're older, which means

you're bothering people that don't want

to hear from you. Be willing to ask

other people for help. Reach out for

copies. Hey, do you know anyone? I'm

looking. But also be as social as

possible because what I have found is

that when I hear from a friend that

they're looking that my intent, I go up

and I start trying to I need to do a

better job of this of identifying

potential opportunities for them. When I

see them recently and they call me and

say, "Hey, do you know anyone at

Salesforce? I'm interested in this

position." I'm more inclined to return

the email or leverage one of my contacts

to try and help them. And you know, it's

like finding a boyfriend or a girlfriend

or friends or it's like kind of like

finding a job. It's a little bit it's a

lot of it is serendipity. And you want

to create serendipity by putting

yourself in a position around as many

other mammals as possible. So it sucks

to be in the position where I'm sure

you've been good at what you did. You

think at this point your momentum and

your skills would open doors. I found

even the most robust economies, it's

never easy to get a job. But I think you

have to do whatever it is to make

yourself feel, you know, build your

self-esteem because every day, boss,

every night, you got to write down a

list of three or six things you're doing

the next day when you grab that spoon to

each [ __ ] Emailing people, going on

LinkedIn, going out, networking. I do

just think it's a numbers game. I don't

think there's a silver bullet here.

Also, some of the agism you might be

feeling, some of it's real, but some of

it's also probably self-inflicted, and

that is it's probably not as bad as you

think. you're just you just get start to

get self-conscious about it.

Unfortunately, you're in a bad part of

the cycle. The way you describe the

labor market right now is no higher no

fire companies. The whole AI tsunami of

layoffs has not really happened outside

of tech who are the early adopters here.

Does that preage more layoffs? Probably.

But also, firms aren't hiring because

they want to see what happens to the

economy. It's like the housing market

right now. There's just a lack of

transactions. There's very few buyers

and very few sellers. And the labor

market right now is kind of no higher,

no fire. So yeah, it's bad, but it's

been worse. I literally when I was

younger used to stand in front of a

mirror and say, I know I can make

someone happy, you know, cuz I was

constantly single and really wanted a

girlfriend. I know I can add value to a

company. I was constantly starting

companies, failing. I know I can add

value to a company, you know. I was

always trying to like manifest and tell

myself that I had value. And I think

that I think that's really important.

And also, if you're feeling any anxiety,

action absorbs anxiety. Write down a

list and just start sending out emails

and making appointments and calling on

people. Sorry for the word salad here.

We'll be right back after a quick break.

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>> Welcome back onto our final question.

>> Hey Scott, I'm reaching out because I'm

in my early 40s and I've heard you talk

about how this is a really hard time of

your life and I agree.

I'm about to enter a divorce. We have a

young child and it's uh a lot of grief

and sadness um and just confusion.

And I think that you've been divorced

and you've got kids and just lay it on

me. What What should I know? What would

you have told yourself

as you were starting to cross the

Rubicon?

>> Oh, first boss, I'm sorry. I can just

hear in your voice how sad you are. And

let me give you bad news and good news.

The bad news is you're you're in for a

rough ride for at least you think you

feel better after 12 months. I found

after my divorce, I didn't really feel

start feeling normal again till after 24

months. And maybe you need to double

that cuz you have kids. I didn't have

kids uh when I got divorced. And I think

kids just are, I would imagine, rub salt

in the wound. So there's just no getting

around it. This is a [ __ ] sandwich. And

uh you should be able to mourn and I

would lean on your friends and talk

openly about it and feel the sadness and

the grief but also recognize you're

going to wake up I don't know 6 12 24

months maybe 36 months you're think I

kind of feel normal again like I'm okay

again. Okay so just some thoughts the

first is and this comes from experience

as a child divorce parents whatever you

do do not weaponize the kids in the

divorce. Often times in divorce, there's

a lot of anger on both sides or on one

side. And it's very tempting to

weaponize the kid. No, you're late.

Don't pick the kid up. Complaining about

your ex- spouse to the kid. This is no

joke. What happened to me? Let's bring

this back to me. My mom used to tell me

when my dad would come pick me up every

other weekend when he was still living

in LA. Tell your father, I was eight.

Tell your father if the child support

check isn't here by Tuesday, I'm calling

his boss and telling him that he's a

deadbeat dad. I would digest my entire

stomach the entire weekend knowing I had

to tell my dad this. And I would finally

wait till the last 5 minutes before he

dropped me off. And I'd tell him, my dad

would [ __ ] freak out and say, "Tell

that [ __ ] I'm not sending the check."

And I'd have to walk back in to my $200

apartment with my mom in Tarzana in the

valley and say, "Dad said, tell the

[ __ ] that he's not sending child." I

mean, it was just my parents had a lot

of good qualities, but sophistication

and understanding the nuance of divorce

and kids was not one of them. Do not

weaponize your kids. And even going

beyond that, I think I don't know if you

have a daughter or a son, I guess it

doesn't really matter, but especially

for sons, I think one of the best things

you can do for sons, especially sons, is

treat their mom really well. I think it

just sends the right signal around their

approach toward women. Anyways, I'm

going to try and summarize here. One,

I'm really sorry. This is a [ __ ] show,

especially with kids. It's ugly. It's

awful. There's no getting around it. You

are going to get past this. You are

going to get past this. Half of people

who get married end up divorced. This is

nothing new. Nothing new. Two, do not

ever weaponize the kids. Uh that's

that's the easy [ __ ] What's harder is

demonstrating affection

to the extent you can respect and

admiration for your ex even when it

really hurts and you have to swallow

hard. And also just keep in mind every

ounce of incremental effort you make

with your kids now uh they're going to

remember. They're going to remember. But

let me just circle back to I think it

was point number two. Trust me on this

brother. At some point you're going to

wake up and you think you're going to

think you know what I feel okay. That's

all for this episode. If you'd like to

submit a question, please email a voice

recording to office hours.com.

That's office hoursprofia.com.

Or if you prefer to ask on Reddit, just

post your question on the Scott Galloway

subreddit and we just might feature it

in an upcoming episode.