Information technology and business podcasts may not be on the radar for most college students. But, I want to put a special spotlight on the show “Pivot,” and particularly one of the cohosts, Kara Swisher.

It is LGBTQIA+ History Month and Kara Swisher is a household name in tech journalism and can definitely be categorized as a person in media belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community.

The twice weekly “Pivot” podcast features Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talking about the latest news and trends in politics, business and technology. Besides being comical, Scott Galloway is an NYU professor, and brings a nice academic perspective to the show by providing timely and appropriate industry stats to their discussions.

Kara is the serious one, though the two have a special chemistry that fills the podcast with polite disagreement and fun banter. Kara does provide no-nonsense analysis and opinions based on decades in industry and journalism.

Her claim to fame is her blunt interview style, and she has interviewed many tech icons over the years on her recently concluded “Sway” podcast.

She’s also launching a new podcast called “On With Kara Swisher” where you can hear her interview style on full display.

The reason for this column is to respond to the September 30 episode of “Pivot.” In this episode Kara and Scott briefly touch on the rather inconsequential news of Margorie Taylor Greene’s (aka MTG) divorce.

For those that may not know, MTG is a controversial figure in politics. She is the congresswoman for Georgia’s 14^th district, she’s an election denier, conspiracy theorist, and is generally considered to be an easy target for leftwing punditry.

Here’s what Kara had to say about the news of MTG’s divorce:

“Getting divorced is a sad thing, I’ve been divorced, [and] these people tout family and really try to shove it down your throat, and they have problems just like anyone else. [When it comes to their lives] they say the matter is private and personal and they’re always telling other people how to live. They are so judgmental until it comes to themselves, and then they want you to not speak about it”

Kara is extremely forthright and doesn’t mind sharing personal details about family and parenting in particular. As a regular listener to “Pivot,” I know Scott Galloway is also a great admirer of Kara’s parenting and family-oriented demeanor.

Anyone that has the kind of hustle to maintain relevance for decades in the technology sector while being hailed by her peers as a great parent has earned my respect.

In the end, Kara is correct to point out the hypocrisy of those who want privacy but also support legislation that takes the freedom of privacy from others. She’s also smart enough to detect when a news story really isn’t a news story.

I’m glad Scott and Kara don’t spend much time on the MTG topic, and instead go on to talk about MacKenzie Scott, who is a great philanthropist, but is also going through the unfortunate circumstance of divorce.

It’s true we in the media, and the news consuming public in general, would benefit from a culture shift away from focusing on the dramas of other people’s personal lives.

This is a difficult priority to balance; however, when a key component of a political party’s legislative agenda is to take away people’s right to privacy, especially in the area of family planning. Let’s keep this in mind this month of October, and make sure to vote our values come November.

It is LGBTQIA+ History Month, but it’s also the midterm election season, so pay close attention to which campaigns truly honor privacy and civil rights.

 Dan Hahn is a English Composition/Rhetoric graduate student. He can be reached at dhahn@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.