The McKinsey Podcast

Quantum computing has long been technology’s white whale. But in recent months, new developments suggest practical applications for this elusive technology could finally be within reach. “Quantum has been five to ten years away from fruition for many, many decades,” says McKinsey Partner Michael Bogobowicz. “Now it feels three to five years away .” In this episode of...

One thing is clear for the fashion industry in 2025. Due to climate change, global trade uncertainties, and consumers focused on value, growth is expected to be slow. However, despite the negative environment, McKinsey Senior Partner, Gemma D’Auria says there are opportunities to mine. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , she speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about our...

“ A bank and a steel company can walk into a bar and not have much to do with each other. But once one of the arena companies walks in, we’re all involved.” That’s McKinsey Global Institute director Chris Bradley . On the latest episode of The McKinsey Podcast , Chris spoke with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about a new report delving into the next arenas of compe...

Leaders worldwide are moving fast to deploy AI at scale. But scaling AI means more data centers—and data centers consume vast quantities of energy. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , McKinsey’s Jesse Noffsinger and Pankaj Sachdeva speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what needs to happen to build new, bigger data centers quickly, as well as to sate their grow...

Gen AI is evolving fast —but employee adoption is slow for most companies. On this episode of  The McKinsey Podcast , we feature an episode of our technology podcast,  At the Edge . Tech visionaries Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield Fund; Kiran Prasad, McKinsey senior adviser and CEO and cofounder of Big Basin Labs; and Naba Banerjee, McKinsey senior adviser and former di...

Global competition has intensified, and the demand for energy and computing power is growing exponentially as companies embed AI, robotics, and other technologies into their everyday business processes. McKinsey’s annual outlook on technology trends points to 13 “frontier” trends that can help companies get a handle on these and other challenges. On this episode of The McKinsey P...

CEOs are confronting double the number of critical issues today compared with ten years ago. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , McKinsey Senior Partners Daniel Pacthod and Kurt Strovink , along with McKinsey Senior Advisor Wyman Howard, join McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to discuss the characteristics today’s business leaders need to handle greater and more frequent waves...

This year on The McKinsey Podcast , we’ve dived into an array of topics on leadership, organizational change, and technological innovation, talking to McKinsey’s most seasoned experts about how to lead during times of geopolitical upheaval and economic uncertainty, as well as how to harness and then radiate the advances made possible by AI. We didn’t just go for the broad strokes...

Yes, dreaming up your next getaway can be exhilarating. But booking it? Often less so. For many customers, the thrill of travel risks getting lost in logistics, says McKinsey Senior Partner Jules Seeley . On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , he joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on the rise of AI in the travel industry, including the advent of AI agents that...

From gen AI pilots to automated supply chains, technology is reshaping how operations leaders create efficiencies, build resilience, and encourage teamwork. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , McKinsey Senior Partner Daniel Swan speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about how COOs can embed technology , particularly AI, into their company’s culture. It requires balancing the ur...

Not all consumer attention is created equal —that’s a critical lesson from McKinsey’s recent report on content creation and monetization. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , McKinsey Senior Partner Kabir Ahuja speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about something called the “attention equation” and how media players can use it to get a better return on t...

What if a product’s journey didn’t end after its first use? Remanufacturing—restoring preowned parts to perform like new—is transforming automotives, electronics, and other industries. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , Senior Partner Inga Maurer and Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro explore how this practice reduces waste while creating more value for companies. Art...

Most leaders set out to be the best —but few make that Mount Everest–like ascent successfully. What do the world’s most iconic CEOs do differently? McKinsey Senior Partners Carolyn Dewar , Kurt Strovink , Scott Keller , and Vik Malhotra break it down in their new book A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership (Scribner/Simon & Schuster, October 2025), based on...

There is no single definition of “rural America.” It comprises agricultural hubs, manufacturing centers, and fast-growing regions—each a regional archetypes with its own distinct challenges and opportunities. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , Senior Partner Nora Gardner joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss these archetypes and new research that can hel...

Chief marketing officers are vital to strategic decision-making, but increasingly, they’re being left out of the discussions that matter most—to the detriment of both customers and growth. “Kelsey and I are on a singular mission to bring CMOs back,” McKinsey Senior Partner Shelley Stewart III said recently, referring to Senior Partner Kelsey Robinson . In this episode of Th...

Don’t lose sight of the long term. It’s a core message from the eighth edition of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies , McKinsey’s seminal guide for corporate-finance professionals. It also describes the unique investment approach of the legendary investor Warren Buffett, who will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025. In this episode of T...

Pickleball, padel—yes, they’re hot .  Nevertheless, a third of the world’s adults are inactive—and among youth, inactivity is even more pronounced, according to McKinsey Partner  Alexander Thiel . In this episode of  The McKinsey Podcast , Alexander joins Global Editorial Director and Deputy Publisher Lucia Rahilly to discuss this year’s whipsawing cons...

As geopolitical tensions persist, global trade dynamics are becoming increasingly complex—and many leaders find themselves on tenterhooks. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , Cindy Levy and Shubham Singhal , two global coleaders of McKinsey’s geopolitics work , join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss how to move forward amid rapidly reconfiguring trade relationshi...

The US housing crunch is bad—and it’s getting worse. Wider access to safe, affordable homes is vital to enabling economic mobility for all Americans—and to harnessing what McKinsey Partner JP Julien , a leader of the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility , calls a “massive” untapped economic opportunity. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , JP joins Global Edi...

M&A activity is down, as is private equity investment, and companies are facing a range of new geopolitical tensions. Still, there is a path to growth through M&A for those companies that maintain an active acquisition strategy, understand their capabilities, and avoid certain assets, says McKinsey Senior Partner Jake Henry . On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , he and McKinsey Senior...

Career advancement is tough for everyone—but for women, it can feel particularly elusive. There’s a reason for that, according to the new book The Broken Run g : for every 100 men promoted early in their careers, only 81 women experience that same opportunity. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , the book’s authors, McKinsey Senior Partners Kweilin Ellingrud , Lareina Yee ,...

Companies are getting practical about  how to create value from gen AI  – while 5G, satellites, and  innovations in phone design  also take center stage. This is a special, bonus episode  of  The McKinsey Podcast . McKinsey Partner Ferry Grijpink joined McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to share some immediate takeaways from the annual Mobile World Cong...

The World Economic Forum was buzzing as leaders confront a world in flux. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Daniel Pacthod , Rodney Zemmel , and Tracy Francis talk with McKinsey global editorial director, Lucia Rahilly, about what happened in  Davos last week (originally recorded for our webinar series,  McKinsey Live). Key themes on the mountaintop were:...

Yes, the changing geopolitical reality presents new risks—but like all disruptions, it may also create new opportunities. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , Cindy Levy and Shubham Singhal , global coleaders of McKinsey’s geopolitics work , speak with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about how leaders can orient themselves within this evolving geopolitical landscape a...

Technology, talent, decarbonization—we explored these and many other topics this year on  The McKinsey Podcast . A range of McKinsey partners joined us on the mic and offered their perspectives on the pivots that global business leaders have made to compete more effectively. On this episode, we revisit a few those discussions and offer quick takes from McKinsey partners o...