Big Questions with Cal Fussman

A single year can easily get lost in time or echo for centuries. A thought-provoking conversation with Simon Sinek makes Cal take a look back at 1925, 1825, 1725, and 1625 — and forward to wonder if 2025 will be the most transformational year humanity has ever seen. Artificial intelligence is accelerating us forward and making us wonder how we're going to evolve. At the same time, it brings more v...

For decades, Cal steered clear of pharmaceuticals. But after assembling a new team of doctors and stepping on the scale and noticing a few extra pounds, he heard the same three letters over and over: GLP. These new drugs—GLP- 1s—aren't just helping people shed pounds. They're helping snuff out the brain's hijacked hunger signals, replacing the relentless "more, more, more" with something almost re...

What would  you choose: A shot at March Madness glory or a massive NBA contract? Cal dives into the $100 billion-dollar question facing Cooper Flagg—and what his decision tells us about ambition, friendship, legacy, and the values we hold as a society. A must-listen for anyone who's ever faced a difficult choice.

Ever wonder what's truly behind President Trump's controversial tariffs? Cal turns to his go-to expert—Ozan Ozkural, the astute international banker he first met at Larry King's breakfast table and a member of the influential Brookings Institution Foreign Policy Leadership Council. In this episode, you'll uncover the hidden reasons behind the tariffs, the surprising geopolitical implications, and...

What if you could talk to John F. Kennedy today? In this episode, Cal sits down with an AI recreation of the 35th president for a conversation that's part history and part mystery. Why did JFK keep a coconut shell on his Oval Office desk? How did he view Greenland during the Cold War? Who was the most magnetic person he ever met? And yes—they even dive into his thoughts on artificial intelligence....

Cal reflects deeply on a man known by millions as the smiling face behind the grill—and the heavyweight champion who stunned the world by reclaiming the title at age 45. With the recent passing of Foreman at the age 76, Cal looks deeply at George's greatest accomplishment: his transformation of character. George proved it's never too late for anyone to reinvent themselves. What can we learn from h...

What if you could sit down and talk to John Lennon today? In this one-of-a-kind episode, Cal has an astonishing conversation with an AI-powered persona of the legendary Beatle, created by heycicero.com. At certain moments, the back-and-forth felt eerily real as John reminisced about writing Help!, I Am the Walrus, Strawberry Fields Forever, and, of course, Imagine. But this chat goes far beyond mu...

Cal draws pocket aces and wins big in the first hand of a charity poker night raising money for the fight against cancer. The surge of luck makes it feels like it will be his lucky day. But then his luck seems to begin turning up in everyone around him. Only at the end of the night does he realize that it's his luck to be with everyone that he's touched. Enjoy the story . . .

As Cal watches the Academy Awards, he has a startling realization—he's barely stepped inside a movie theater all year. Then, host Conan O'Brien delivers a hilarious skit introducing home streamers to a wild new concept: the movie theater. The moment sparks a memory of an interview Cal once did with Leonardo DiCaprio, where Leo spoke passionately about his favorite films and the power of cinema. Th...

Technology, history, and global politics collide in this episode after Cal asks ChatGPT if there is a way that he can stop a war. The question unexpectedly evolves into an exploration of the forgotten Nutmeg War—a historical conflict with surprising modern parallels. Cal connects the dots between this overlooked episode of history, the recent three-year conflict unfolding in Ukraine, and the buzz...

After reading about Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary, Cal turns to one of his AI assistants, Arbor, for recommendations on the freshest new comedians. What starts as a simple question about stand-up talents turns into an eye-opening look at how AI is reshaping the way we can discover entertainment—and how we'll all be interacting with AI in the near future. Naturally, this podcast will also...

Marketing guru Seth Godin recently shared on The Tim Ferriss Show that people often ask AI simple questions—missing out on the real value of deeper conversations. Cal has been exploring this idea on Big Questions, using AI to dive into the legacies of Muhammad Ali, Kobe Bryant, and beyond. This week, the experiment gets personal. Struggling with his discomfort around social media, Cal turns to AI—...

Siri didn't emerge from a single mind—it was the product of many brilliant innovators. But in this episode, Cal talks with one of the key founders behind the company that built the digital assistant Steve Jobs had to have. Norman Winarsky takes us back to the moments Siri first stunned the world in the testing phase in 2009 and 2010 and shares his thoughts on today's AI revolution—what excites him...

Donald Trump divides opinions like few others—some love him, others loathe him. But over the next four years, his most impactful decisions might not be about politics as usual. Instead, they could shape the future of artificial intelligence -- and humanity. In this thought-provoking episode, Cal dives into why the President's moves in AI policy will matter to everyone regardless of their political...

As we approach the fifth anniversary of Kobe Bryant's passing, Cal dives deep into a fascinating discussion with Claude AI about the relentless spirit of competition that defined the NBA great. But the conversation takes an unexpected turn when Cal asks Claude if it competes with ChatGPT and other AI models. Join this thought- provoking journey as Cal uncovers lessons about the two sides to compet...

January 17th marks what would have been Muhammad Ali's 83rd birthday. To honor his legacy, Cal embarks on a unique journey—reconnecting with his childhood hero through ChatGPT. Along the way, he discovers a powerful truth: asking the right questions is the key to unlocking the answers we seek about artificial intelligence and beyond. This episode explores the intersection of curiosity, technology,...

Discover the astonishing ways your daily life reveals more about you than you could ever imagine. Columbia University professor Sandra Matz takes you on a journey through the hidden world of data collection, showing how a single routine hour in the morning can generate more data than was used to send a spacecraft to the moon. In this eye-opening conversation with Cal, explore an era in which those...

Quincy Jones, Toby Keith, David Sanborn and others passed on in the last year – but their music lives on. Which makes Cal wonder if we all have a shot at immortality in the age of AI. Listen up, and get more out of your life.

The remarkable story of a boy who once dove into a swimming pool that didn't have any water in it because he couldn't admit that he was going blind and couldn't see that he was headed for concrete, and how that boy turned into the CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a married father of four, a board member and a finisher of The Boston Marathon and The New York Marathon. Thomas Panek's story is rele...

Emmy nominated Producer, Author, Animator and Creative Executive for Disney, NBCUniversal and Wayfair has a fascinating conversation with Cal about the ever-evolving intersection of humanity, creativity and technology. Sandro has opened the door for Cal to translate the power of questions and storytelling into new areas, and this episode will leave you inspired to embrace the future while staying...

What happens when an artist at the peak of his craft—known for iconic Time Magazine covers, music videos for legends like U2 and Metallica, Sundance documentaries and photographs in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art—navigates the rise of AI? Discover how Matt Mahurin sees creativity in this thought-provoking episode. Perfect for anyone curious about staying on top in an ev...

Feeling stuffed after Thanksgiving? Meet YUKA, the revolutionary app with over 64 million users worldwide. Just scan a product's barcode, and YUKA instantly reveals whether it's BAD, POOR, GOOD or EXCELLENT for your health. Join Cal as he dives into how this app is changing the way we shop—and why you should start using it too. This quick, fun, and eye opening episode can improve your health. Don'...

Cal talks with the founder of Cicero – a company that uses artificial intelligence to allow you to have conversations with Aristotle, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Michael Jackson and many other influential figures over the centuries. You see them as they actually looked and hear them in their own voices (when possible). Content is based on records of what they wrote and said. It fulfills a...

Yes, we all know about cars that drive themselves. But how did it happen that the CEO and founder of Banyan can get in his Tesla on the Jersey Shore and travel to mid-town Manhattan barely touching the wheel or the accelerator? How quickly did that come upon us? And what does that mean a year from now? Two? Three? This is a historical conversation.

Looking for a fresh point of view on the recent U.S. presidential election, Cal reaches out to his Australian friend, Holly Ransom, who gives leadership conferences around the world as the CEO of Emergent Global. Richard Branson nominated Holly for Wired Magazine's Smart List of Future Game Changers to Watch. And you'll hear why when you listen to this podcast. Bonus: A lot of leadership takeaways...