Rapid Response

Wildfires have forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate their homes in the Los Angeles area, and killed at least 24 people. In what will likely be the most costly disaster in U.S. history, thousands of homes and businesses have been lost. In a special edition of Rapid Response, host Bob Safian and show producers share on-the-ground perspectives from entrepreneurs who have been directly impacted...

In recent months, the fashion industry has seen unprecedented price hikes, CEO turnovers, sustainability back-peddling, and more — culminating in what The Business of Fashion’s Imran Amed is calling, a ‘full-blown luxury crisis’. Amed joins Rapid Response to take us inside the industry chaos, and share his insights and predictions for the year ahead. Plus, he shares how the savviest brands today a...

Entering 2025, AI is poised to continue disrupting, redefining and supercharging the business world. AI expert and Pioneers of AI host, Rana El Kaliouby, joins Rapid Response to share five bold AI predictions for the year ahead – from technological advancements to societal impact to investing. Whether you’re looking for AI to further enhance your work, portfolio, or personal productivity, Rana’s i...

A new year is the perfect time to rethink work goals, habits, and systems. Dan Heath’s new book Reset is focused on simple yet profoundly transformative ways to do just that. The co-author of bestsellers like Made to Stick and Switch , Dan shares hidden "leverage points” and other practical strategies to help us escape subpar routines and focus on what truly matters. Whether you’re reexamining you...

In this special holiday replay, we share another standout conversation from 2024 featuring Impossible Foods’ Peter McGuinness. This year, sustainability initiatives rolled back across industries and meat alternatives struggled more than ever before on sales. McGuinness tells host Bob Safian where plant-based brands made big missteps, and why the industry’s marketing should evolve – potentiall...

In this special holiday replay, we share a standout conversation of 2024 featuring ex-CEO of Barstool and current head of Food52, Erika Ayers Badan. She shares with Rapid Response why she made a dramatic career pivot — taking over Food52 — and why running Barstool was like “a heart attack every day.” She also explores lessons around cultivating a community of fans, and why, as a leader, “no” is of...

This has been a defining year for Big Tech and media. Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to explore the dominance of companies like NVIDIA and Apple, the personalities shaping tech — from Sam Altman to Elon Musk — and the shifting landscape of AI and innovation. Nick also shares what it’s like to lead The Atlantic during a time of heightened media disruption a...

We’ve rounded up the most definitive business lessons of 2024, as heard on Rapid Response. Drawn from standout guests like will.i.am, Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, and more, these moments not only offer takeaways from tech to entertainment, they provide a roadmap for challenges ahead in 2025. Our curated collection of insights in leadership and creative problem-solving is drawn...

It’s been a wild year in sports business, with the surge in popularity for women’s sports to the eye-watering deals in NBA broadcasting rights. Sports journalist and podcaster Pablo Torre, host of Pablo Torre Finds Out, joins Rapid Response to look back at the year that was across many of the major sports leagues. Pablo explores the impact of notable athletes like Caitlin Clark and Juan Soto, how...

Millions of users have joined social media platform Bluesky in recent weeks, as an alternative to Elon Musk's X. It’s sparking new opportunities and challenges for Bluesky's tiny 20-person team, and COO Rose Wang joins Rapid Response to discuss a major shift underway in social media. As dissatisfaction with the big platforms grows, she explains why the open network of Bluesky isn't just X by anoth...

The energy industry – from fossil fuels to clean power – is poised for major change. From US president-elect Donald Trump’s support for oil and gas to Big Tech’s rising support for nuclear power to the recent UN talks on climate change in Baku, Azerbaijan, Cipher News executive editor and longtime energy reporter Amy Harder joins Rapid Response to cut through the noise, breaking down the most impo...

With the help of co-founder Mark Cuban, Cost Plus Drugs CEO Alex Oshmyansky is radically re-engineering the pharma marketplace and dramatically cutting the price for many prescription drugs. Oshmyansky joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to share his amazing journey — from struggling as an immigrant in primary school to starting college at age 13, how medical practice led to entrepreneurship, plu...

Apple defies gravity, and AI is Divine. That’s how Guy Kawasaki, who worked closely with Steve Jobs and is now chief evangelist at Canva and host of the podcast Remarkable People, describes the state of tech now. Guy argues that Jobs would thrive in today’s business climate, muses about Tim Cook’s limitations, and explains what he means when he says “AI is God.” Plus unconventional advice about wh...

Potential tariff wars, market movements, allies in big tech … About two months out from Trump’s return to office, there’s rampant speculation about the new administration’s impact on the business world. To cut through the noise, Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer joins Rapid Response to share what he’s hearing from individuals in global governments and boardrooms. Bremmer reveals which industries are poi...

Rapper and musician Iggy Azalea wants you to know that her crypto token $MOTHER isn’t just another ‘pump and dump’ celebrity crypto play. She believes in the future of cryptocurrency and the potential for fostering a new engaged community of followers — or ‘stans’ as she calls them. Azalea sits down with Rapid Response host Bob Safian to reveal why she retired from music and made the pivot into cr...

Gender equity suddenly cuts both ways in 2024: Some argue that men are being unfairly demonized, while data shows a continuing gap in opportunity for women. Live from the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco, Jessi Hempel, host of the Hello Monday podcast, leads a thought-provoking panel with the CEO of Lean In, Rachel Thomas; the chief diversity officer at Meta, Maxine Williams; and the found...

How do you cultivate loyalty, from investors to team members and, of course, customers? Business leaders have long debated this. Host Bob Safian invites two guests to weigh in with their secrets to brand and company loyalty. Chewy CEO Sumit Singh has built his pet-centric business around customer service and care. And seasoned CEO Sarah Robb O’Hagan has led at Exos, Equinox, Nike, and more – all b...

Following Donald Trump’s victory in this week’s US presidential election, Reid Hoffman (a major donor to Vice President Harris’ campaign) is figuring out where business, tech, and his own energy go from here. Hoffman joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to share his reaction to the election and what the outcome means for Silicon Valley, the overall economy, and more. Despite being a vocal critic o...

In this special 2-for-1 episode, we offer two segments of rapid-fire fun from the 2024 Masters of Scale Summit. First, Slutty Vegan’s Pinky Cole joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian for a gamified session on capturing consumer attention that delivers lessons on the power of joy, building celebrity, and competing with stalwarts like McDonald’s. Then, ocean storyteller and entrepreneur Philippe...

Who is listening in and tracking our digital activity? And is it really necessary? Recorded live at the 2024 Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco, Rapid Response host Bob Safian sits down with Signal president Meredith Whittaker to discuss privacy, trust and digital surveillance, from governments and from companies. Whittaker argues that we should question what she sees as extreme data collect...

As conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate, Rapid Response host Bob Safian led a discussion live on stage at the Masters of Scale Summit between two experienced leaders with close knowledge of the region. World Central Kitchen’s CEO Erin Gore has been providing food relief in Gaza and beyond, and Daniel Lubetzky leads the Builders Movement, an organization committed to overcoming extremi...

Anyone can build wealth, argues Codie Sanchez, investor and founder of Contrarian Thinking: You’ve just got to play the game the right way. Sanchez has built a massive following across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram by offering unconventional financial advice, particularly to younger people. Codie joins Rapid Response to break down the biggest misconceptions about personal finance, the pitfal...

Leonardo da Vinci is a thoroughly modern figure, even if he lived hundreds of years ago. So says Ken Burns, the legendary documentary filmmaker on topics from the Civil War to Muhammad Ali. Burns joins Rapid Response to talk about his new, upcoming project on da Vinci and what leaders in 2024 can learn from his interdisciplinary approach. Burns also opens up about the challenges of creative integr...

How much should we tip? Legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer returns to Rapid Response to assess an inflection point in customer expectations and experiences around that and other questions. The founder of Union Square Hospitality Group and Shake Shack shares his hard-earned lessons from unsuccessfully challenging the tipping norm, plus why he sees right now as a golden age for new restaurants. Hear...

Wikipedia is among the top ten most-visited websites in the world, and it’s been a pillar of online knowledge for more than 20 years. The site’s parent nonprofit, Wikimedia Foundation, wants it to stay that way. CEO Maryana Iskander joins Rapid Response to discuss how Wikipedia is navigating AI-generated misinformation, why debates around truth and neutrality will only intensify, and threats to th...