
Advertise on podcast: The Next Big Idea
Rating
4.4from
This podcast has
381 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Next Big Idea ClubExplicit
No
Date created
2019/10/02
Latest episode
2026/10/15
Average duration
65 min.
Release period
4 days
Description
The Next Big Idea is a weekly series of in-depth interviews with the world’s leading thinkers. Join hosts Rufus Griscom and Caleb Bissinger — along with our curators, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink — for conversations that might just change the way you see the world. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. For ad inquiries, please reach out to: [email protected]
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Check latest episodes from The Next Big Idea podcast
How to Become the Most Interesting Person You Know
2026/10/15
We all carry around invisible lists, private ledgers of disappointment — the talents we wish we had, the hobbies we’d like to take up, the passion projects we keep meaning to kickstart. Ravi Gupta has one of those lists, and nine years ago, the ex-Obama staffer decided to do something about it. Cut to the present. He’s a published novelist, dawn-patrol surfer, solid tennis player, and budding Italian chef. How did one man accomplish all that? Today on the show: the method he swears anyone can use. Even Caleb.
Ravi’s new book is The Invisible List: One Passion a Year, Every Year.
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected]
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
Hostinger — Describe the website you want and Hostinger’s AI agent builds it in minutes, with plans starting at $3/month. Go to hostinger.com/nbi and use code NBI for 10% off
Life at the Speed of Play — Purchase one copy at getmarksbook.com/next and author Mark Pincus will send you two
Sequencing — Go to sequencing.com and use promo code IDEA for 10% off
Storyblocks — The 100% human-made stock media library built for creators. Get 15% off any annual plan, available only at storyblocks.com/nbi
Feel the AGI: Kevin Roose on the Strange, Intoxicating Race to Superintelligence
2026/10/08
What’s really fueling the race to build superintelligence? Science? Idealism? Money? Try spite. “These guys hate each other,” says Kevin Roose. “It’s grudges all the way down.” Those rivalries, it turns out, have pushed AI forward faster than any of them thinks is wise.
Kevin would know. Until recently, he was a tech columnist at the New York Times and co-host of the massively popular Hard Fork podcast. (If you miss his dulcet tones, he and Casey Newton will be back with a new show, Machine Gods, later this month.) He has also spent the last few years interviewing more than 150 of the people racing to build artificial general intelligence.
The result is his gripping new book, The AGI Chronicles, just out this week. It’s corporate thriller material: secret Slack channels, philosophical feuds, mystical beliefs, billion-dollar bets. But the stakes are extremely high. Can a small group of people with outsized influence over humanity’s future get along? Can they work together to make sure we build AI safely? And now that the rest of us are paying attention, what should we do about it?
🎧 Check out our conversations about AI with Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, Sebastian Mallaby, Stuart Russell, and a younger Kevin Roose.
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected]
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
Life at the Speed of Play — Purchase one copy at getmarksbook.com/next and author Mark Pincus will send you two
Northwest Registered Agent — Helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses for nearly 30 years. Learn more at northwestregisteredagent.com/nbifree
Sequencing — Go to sequencing.com and use promo code IDEA for 10% off
Daniel Pink and Angela Duckworth on Friction-Maxxing, Becoming a Mentor Magnet and the Problem with Solo Striving
2026/10/05
Our curator Daniel Pink recently sat down with Angela Duckworth to chat about her new book, Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best. Although we just had Angela on the show, we couldn’t resist sharing this conversation too. It’s live. It’s loose. And it covers a lot of ground we didn’t get to last time — like what Michael Phelps's childhood ZIP code had to do with his 28 Olympic medals (8:15), why Angela's house is full of avocados and physical therapy equipment (26:55), how a late-night cold call changed millions of lives (32:27), and how Daniel has made it in his career without a single mentor (41:52).
📚 This conversation was recorded live at an event hosted by Politics and Prose, Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore.
🎁 Join the Next Big Idea Club today, and we’ll send you a copy of Situated along with our two latest selections: Vibe by Adam Grant and What Could Possibly Go Right by Danny Meyer. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com and use code PODCAST to get 20% off your membership.
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
🔗 Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
Life at the Speed of Play — Purchase one copy at getmarksbook.com/next and author Mark Pincus will send you two
Northwest Registered Agent — Helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses for nearly 30 years. Learn more at northwestregisteredagent.com/nbifree
Sequencing — Go to sequencing.com and use promo code IDEA for 10% off
The One Word That Explains Progress
2026/10/01
Martin Seligman founded the positive psychology movement. Now, at 84, he’s shaking up the field all over again. He’s got a new book out. It’s called Agency. And in it, he says, he’s trying to “found a new field.” It’s called psychohistory. “I'm after the rigorous possibility that we can use the tools of psychology to go back in history to ask the questions: What produces innovation? What produces progress? And what produces stagnation?”
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
Life at the Speed of Play — Purchase one copy at getmarksbook.com/next and author Mark Pincus will send you two
Northwest Registered Agent — Helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses for nearly 30 years. Learn more at northwestregisteredagent.com/nbifree
Sequencing — They're offering our listeners up to 10% off your full Genome test, plus free shipping. Go to sequencing.com and use promo code IDEA for 10% off.
Angela Duckworth Now Thinks "Grit" Wasn't the Whole Story
2026/09/28
Ten years ago, Angela Duckworth became one of the world’s most influential psychologists by making the case for grit. Though talent matters, she argued, it’s passion and perseverance that turn potential into achievement. Now she’s back with a new book called Situated that complicates that argument in a fascinating way.
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Life at the Speed of Play — Purchase one copy at getmarksbook.com/next and author Mark Pincus will send you two
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Quince — Find your next fall favorites at quince.com/nbi. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Shopify — It’s where you go to start your business, with everything you need already there from day one. Start your free trial at shopify.com/nbi
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
AI Has Gone Rogue. Here’s What We Should Do About It.
2026/09/24
"This Is Really Bad." That's the not-so-comforting headline of Stephen Witt's mega-viral New York Times essay about a dawning realization among Silicon Valley researchers that "AI may no longer be entirely within human control." The piece is a sobering account of the rogue-AI incidents that have everyone from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to King Charles warning of existential peril unless we slow down. But Witt isn't just another voice in the alarmist chorus. He lays out four concrete ways to rein in this technology before it's too late.
We talk about why we should investigate AI breakouts like plane crashes (7:39), how AI risk went from niche worry to political flashpoint (30:48), and why the smartest people in tech still can't agree on whether AI is just buggy software or a tiger we haven't learned to tame (44:44).
🎧 Check out Stephen's previous appearances on the show where we spoke about Jensen Huang and the robotics revolution
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected]
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Life at the Speed of Play — Purchase one copy at getmarksbook.com/next and author Mark Pincus will send you two
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Quince — Find your next fall favorites at quince.com/nbi. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Shopify — It’s where you go to start your business, with everything you need already there from day one. Start your free trial at shopify.com/nbi
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
You Don't Have Free Will. That's Good News.
2026/09/21
Do we have free will? Do we have a choice in what we do? Philosophers and theologians have debated these questions for centuries; Robert Sapolsky answered them when he was 14. Free will, he concluded, simply does not exist.
Robert is now in his sixties. He has degrees from Harvard and Rockefeller University; he won a MacArthur “genius” award; and he’s a professor at Stanford, where he holds joint appointments in biology, neurology, and neurosurgery. But despite how much time has passed and how long his CV has grown, he never lost his youthful fascination with free will — or our lack thereof — so he decided to write a book about it. It’s called Determined, and in addition to assembling a formidable case against free will, Robert makes the intriguing argument that if we can abandon our illusion of volition, we can build a more humane world.
(This episode first aired in January 2024.)
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Life at the Speed of Play — Purchase one copy at getmarksbook.com/next and author Mark Pincus will send you two
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Quince — Find your next fall favorites at quince.com/nbi. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Shopify — It’s where you go to start your business, with everything you need already there from day one. Start your free trial at shopify.com/nbi
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
The Art of Fighting
2026/09/17
We’ve gotten very good at cutting people off. But have we forgotten how to work through our differences?
In The Art of Fighting, bestselling author and conflict resolution expert Priya Parker challenges the idea that disagreement is a sign of a broken relationship. She argues that avoiding difficult conversations can quietly erode the very connections we’re trying to protect. The answer isn’t to fight more, but to develop what she calls “healthy heat”: the ability to hold tension with care long enough to get somewhere new.
In this conversation with Rufus, Priya reveals why lasting communities need conflict as much as love, how to recognize which fights are worth having, and why some couples actually schedule their arguments. She also shares how to ask better questions during disagreements, make apologies that lead to real repair, and know when it’s time to let a relationship end.
__________
🎧 Check out Priya's previous appearance on The Next Big Idea here
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected]
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Life at the Speed of Play — Purchase one copy at getmarksbook.com/next and author Mark Pincus will send you two
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Quince — Find your next fall favorites at quince.com/nbi. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Shopify — It’s where you go to start your business, with everything you need already there from day one. Start your free trial at shopify.com/nbi
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
Is America a ‘Country of Lords’?
2026/09/14
America was founded on a radical promise: all people are created equal. But for 250 years, some of the country’s most powerful thinkers have been arguing the opposite.
In Country of Lords, historian Kim Phillips-Fein traces the largely forgotten intellectual tradition that has defended hierarchy, from the Founding Fathers and Gilded Age industrialists to today’s tech elite. She reveals how inequality has repeatedly been reframed as natural, necessary, and even good for society, and why those arguments are resurfacing at a moment of extraordinary wealth concentration.
In this conversation with guest host Michael Kovnat, Kim explores the dark side of meritocracy, why some of America’s richest men believed wealth proved superiority, and how ideas once considered fringe are finding new life in Silicon Valley. With AI threatening to concentrate wealth even further, she asks a question that has followed America since its founding: how much inequality can a democracy survive?
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Northwest Registered Agent — Helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses for nearly 30 years. Learn more at northwestregisteredagent.com/nbifree
Quince — Find your next fall favorites at quince.com/nbi. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Shopify — It’s where you go to start your business, with everything you need already there from day one. Start your free trial at shopify.com/nbi
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
A Storytelling Masterclass with Will Storr
2026/09/10
Will Storr is the author of the dazzling books The Science of Storytelling and A Story Is a Deal, and in this episode, he tells us everything he knows about humanity’s greatest invention: story. More than just entertainment, Will argues, story is what we do and who we are. It’s how we make sense of the world, captivate, and persuade. And yet for all its power, storytelling isn’t some elusive magic trick — it’s a skill. One you can learn. Will’s here to show you how.
(This episode originally aired in February 2025.)
🎧 Listen to Will’s other appearance on the podcast here
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
🔗 Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Northwest Registered Agent — Helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses for nearly 30 years. Learn more at northwestregisteredagent.com/nbifree
Quince — Find your next fall favorites at quince.com/nbi. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Shopify — It’s where you go to start your business, with everything you need already there from day one. Start your free trial at shopify.com/nbi
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
What Can Henry David Thoreau Teach Us About Work?
2026/09/07
Henry David Thoreau was a philosopher, poet, and pencil-maker. He was a great resigner and, above all, a superb writer whose masterpiece, "Walden," is considered by many to be America's first environmentalist manifesto.
But John Kaag has a different view.
"Thoreau's attempt to 'get back to nature,'" he and co-author Jonathan Van Belle wrote in their book, Henry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living, was an "attempt to get away from the capitalist rat race." By resigning from that race, Thoreau was, in a sense, reclaiming life—he was making a conscious choice about what to respect and where to tap meaning. "The abiding message of 'Walden,'" according to John and Jonathan, is that "the frenetic busyness of modern life should never be confused with the essential business of living."
In this episode, which first aired in July 2023, John Kaag and Caleb explore Thoreau's life and career, and they come away with surprising lessons about why we work and how we can make it more meaningful — how we can, in Thoreau's words, "live deliberately."
__________
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Northwest Registered Agent — Helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses for nearly 30 years. Learn more at northwestregisteredagent.com/nbifree
Quince — Find your next fall favorites at quince.com/nbi. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Shopify — It’s where you go to start your business, with everything you need already there from day one. Start your free trial at shopify.com/nbi
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
How French Philosophy Wired Modern Thinking
2026/09/03
How did a group of notoriously difficult French philosophers become intellectual rock stars on American college campuses — and how much do their ideas matter today?
In The Frenchmen, writer and editor Emily Eakin traces the unlikely rise of French theory and the thinkers who transformed how a generation understood language, truth, power, and identity. In this conversation with guest host Michael Kovnat, Emily explains why figures like Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault became irresistible to students in the ’70s and ’80s, and how theory offered both intellectual sophistication and a new way to challenge the establishment.
They explore how these ideas helped shape identity politics and our modern suspicion of institutions, why theory eventually fell out of fashion, and the scandals that accelerated its decline. Plus, Emily makes a surprising case for why the age of AI might prove some of the French theorists right.
🎥 The Next Big Idea is on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Northwest Registered Agent — Helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses for nearly 30 years. Learn more at northwestregisteredagent.com/nbifree
Shopify — It’s where you go to start your business, with everything you need already there from day one. Start your free trial at shopify.com/nbi
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
A Nobel Prize Winner’s Plan to Save Democracy
2026/08/31
Democracy is in the dumps. OK, that's a bit dramatic. But it's definitely not working as well as it used to. Good thing Daron Acemoglu — Nobel laureate, MIT Institute Professor, and one of the world's most-cited economists — has a plan to fix it.
Today on the show, he explains why liberal democracy has faltered in the post-industrial age and makes the case for upgrading it to a new "working-class liberalism" built around good jobs, strong communities, and greater tolerance. We also discuss what today's populist movements get right and wrong, and why immigration has become such a powerful political fault line. Plus: Why Daron, once skeptical that AI would amount to much economically, now thinks a transformation larger than the Industrial Revolution is on the table.
His new book is What Happened to Liberal Democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity.
__________
🎥 The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
📱 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
Wealthfront — Earn up to 4.30% APY with Wealthfront's high-yield cash account for a limited time at wealthfront.com/nbi
***
Wealthfront Disclosures:
This experience may not be representative of other Wealthfront clients, and there is no guarantee of future performance or success. Experiences will vary. The host of The Next Big Idea, Caleb Bissinger (“Media Partner”), is a client of Wealthfront. The Media Partner receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Brokerage for this paid endorsement placed in their podcast, creating a conflict of interest. More details available via the referral link. The Direct Deposit Plus Investing Program from Wealthfront Advisers LLC and Wealthfront Brokerage LLC provides eligible clients a 0.25% APY increase above the base APY on eligible Cash Account balances (up to an overall boosted rate of 4.30% for a limited time when including the three month 0.75% APY boost for new clients) when you direct deposit $1,000 a month, plus open, fund, and maintain an investing account. Wealthfront may change or end the program at any time and determine eligibility at its discretion. Terms apply. Full details at wealthfront.com/promo-terms.
The Cash Account, which is not a deposit account, is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC ("Wealthfront Brokerage"), Member FINRA/SIPC. Wealthfront Brokerage is not a bank. The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") on cash deposits as of January 30, 2026, is representative, requires no minimum, and may change at any time. References to the APY for the Wealthfront Cash Account, including any APY increase, are to the APY paid by insured depository institutions that participate in our cash sweep program (the "Program Banks”). Wealthfront Brokerage does not pay interest. Funds in the Cash Account are swept to Program Banks where they earn a variable APY and are eligible for FDIC insurance. Conditions apply. For a list of Program Banks, see: www.wealthfront.com/programbanks. FDIC pass-through insurance, which protects against the failure of Program Banks, not Wealthfront, is not provided until the funds arrive at the Program Banks. While funds are at Wealthfront Brokerage, and while they are transitioning to and/or from Wealthfront Brokerage to the Program Banks, the funds are eligible for SIPC protection up to the $250,000 limit for cash.
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How to Unlock the Creativity You Already Have
2026/08/27
What if creativity isn’t a talent you’re born with, but a muscle you’ve simply stopped using?
In Daily Creative, Blythe Harris and Mallory May make the case that everyone is creative — even the people convinced they can’t draw, paint, write, or make anything “good.” The real problem is that perfectionism, routine, and our obsession with getting things right have trained many of us to stop experimenting altogether.
In this conversation with Rufus, Blythe and Mallory reveal why even a few minutes of creative play can boost well-being, sharpen your thinking, and pull you out of autopilot. They share simple ways to quiet your inner critic, explain why constraints can actually make you more creative, and show how noticing what catches your eye can help you develop a point of view that’s genuinely your own. And in an age of AI and automation, they argue that exercising your creativity may matter more than ever.
📕 Learn more about Blythe and Mallory’s book at https://dailycreative.com/ and be sure to check out their Substack: https://dailycreative.substack.com/
🎥 The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
✉️ Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
Today's episode is sponsored by:
Granola — The AI notepad with notes, actions, and memory, and no annoying meeting bots. Try it totally free for three months at granola.ai/idea
IM8 — Athletes. Doctors. They all drink IM8. Get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order when you use code NBI at im8health.com/nbi
Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
Wealthfront — Earn up to 4.30% APY with Wealthfront's high-yield cash account for a limited time at wealthfront.com/nbi
***
Wealthfront Disclosures:
This experience may not be representative of other Wealthfront clients, and there is no guarantee of future performance or success. Experiences will vary. The host of The Next Big Idea, Caleb Bissinger (“Media Partner”), is a client of Wealthfront. The Media Partner receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Brokerage for this paid endorsement placed in their podcast, creating a conflict of interest. More details available via the referral link. The Direct Deposit Plus Investing Program from Wealthfront Advisers LLC and Wealthfront Brokerage LLC provides eligible clients a 0.25% APY increase above the base APY on eligible Cash Account balances (up to an overall boosted rate of 4.30% for a limited time when including the three month 0.75% APY boost for new clients) when you direct deposit $1,000 a month, plus open, fund, and maintain an investing account. Wealthfront may change or end the program at any time and determine eligibility at its discretion. Terms apply. Full details at wealthfront.com/promo-terms.
The Cash Account, which is not a deposit account, is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC ("Wealthfront Brokerage"), Member FINRA/SIPC. Wealthfront Brokerage is not a bank. The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") on cash deposits as of January 30, 2026, is representative, requires no minimum, and may change at any time. References to the APY for the Wealthfront Cash Account, including any APY increase, are to the APY paid by insured depository institutions that participate in our cash sweep program (the "Program Banks”). Wealthfront Brokerage does not pay interest. Funds in the Cash Account are swept to Program Banks where they earn a variable APY and are eligible for FDIC insurance. Conditions apply. For a list of Program Banks, see: www.wealthfront.com/programbanks. FDIC pass-through insurance, which protects against the failure of Program Banks, not Wealthfront, is not provided until the funds arrive at the Program Banks. While funds are at Wealthfront Brokerage, and while they are transitioning to and/or from Wealthfront Brokerage to the Program Banks, the funds are eligible for SIPC protection up to the $250,000 limit for cash.
FDIC insurance is limited to $250,000 per customer, per bank, regardless of whether those deposits are placed through Wealthfront Brokerage. You are responsible for monitoring your total deposits at each Program Bank to stay within FDIC limits. Wealthfront works with multiple Program Banks to make available up to $8 million ($16 million for joint accounts) of pass-through FDIC coverage for your cash deposits. For more info on FDIC insurance coverage, visit www.FDIC.gov.
Same-day withdrawal or instant payment transfers may be limited by destination institutions, daily transaction caps, and by participating entities such as Wells Fargo, the RTP® Network, and FedNow® Service. New Cash Account deposits are subject to a 2-4 day holding period before becoming available for transfer. Fees & Eligibility requirements may apply to certain checking features. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Securities investments are not bank deposits, bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value. Product images are for illustrative purposes and do not reflect individual experiences, account balances, or performance.
Caroline Webb on the Leadership Skills AI Can’t Replace
2026/08/24
Want to be a better leader? Start by doing less. In her new book, Leadership Intelligence, Caroline Webb shows how smart delegation, ruthless prioritization, and the right time management techniques can help you make better decisions.
In this episode, Caroline and Rufus discuss how to be a better leader by using your time more intentionally, delegating work you should no longer own, and helping your team do their best thinking. Caroline shares practical tools for team management, decision-making, communication skills, saying no without damaging relationships, avoiding multitasking, and focusing on the highest and best use of your leadership.
__________
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Momentous — If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code IDEA for up to 35% off your entire first order
Upwork — Find freelancers for any project. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free
Wealthfront — Earn up to 4.30% APY with Wealthfront's high-yield cash account for a limited time at wealthfront.com/nbi
Wealthfront Disclosures:
This experience may not be representative of other Wealthfront clients, and there is no guarantee of future performance or success. Experiences will vary. The host of The Next Big Idea, Caleb Bissinger (“Media Partner”), is a client of Wealthfront. The Media Partner receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Brokerage for this paid endorsement placed in their podcast, creating a conflict of interest. More details available via the referral link. The Direct Deposit Plus Investing Program from Wealthfront Advisers LLC and Wealthfront Brokerage LLC provides eligible clients a 0.25% APY increase above the base APY on eligible Cash Account balances (up to an overall boosted rate of 4.30% for a limited time when including the three month 0.75% APY boost for new clients) when you direct deposit $1,000 a month, plus open, fund, and maintain an investing account. Wealthfront may change or end the program at any time and determine eligibility at its discretion. Terms apply. Full details at wealthfront.com/promo-terms.
The Cash Account, which is not a deposit account, is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC ("Wealthfront Brokerage"), Member FINRA/SIPC. Wealthfront Brokerage is not a bank. The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") on cash deposits as of January 30, 2026, is representative, requires no minimum, and may change at any time. References to the APY for the Wealthfront Cash Account, including any APY increase, are to the APY paid by insured depository institutions that participate in our cash sweep program (the "Program Banks”). Wealthfront Brokerage does not pay interest. Funds in the Cash Account are swept to Program Banks where they earn a variable APY and are eligible for FDIC insurance. Conditions apply. For a list of Program Banks, see: www.wealthfront.com/programbanks. FDIC pass-through insurance, which protects against the failure of Program Banks, not Wealthfront, is not provided until the funds arrive at the Program Banks. While funds are at Wealthfront Brokerage, and while they are transitioning to and/or from Wealthfront Brokerage to the Program Banks, the funds are eligible for SIPC protection up to the $250,000 limit for cash.
FDIC insurance is limited to $250,000 per customer, per bank, regardless of whether those deposits are placed through Wealthfront Brokerage. You are responsible for monitoring your total deposits at each Program Bank to stay within FDIC limits. Wealthfront works with multiple Program Banks to make available up to $8 million ($16 million for joint accounts) of pass-through FDIC coverage for your cash deposits. For more info on FDIC insurance coverage, visit www.FDIC.gov.
Same-day withdrawal or instant payment transfers may be limited by destination institutions, daily transaction caps, and by participating entities such as Wells Fargo, the RTP® Network, and FedNow® Service. New Cash Account deposits are subject to a 2-4 day holding period before becoming available for transfer. Fees & Eligibility requirements may apply to certain checking features. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Securities investments are not bank deposits, bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value. Product images are for illustrative purposes and do not reflect individual experiences, account balances, or performance.
Podcast reviews
Read The Next Big Idea podcast reviews
Asusto53 2026/07/20
My Go To Podcast
I love this podcast and its companion Next Big Idea Daily. I am a naturally curious person and find the range of topics to be pretty broad and a good ...
wfox454 2026/03/09
Great Episode on John & Paul’s Creative Partnership
I’ve been a fan of this podcast for years, it’s always great, but the episode about Ian Leslie’s book on John and Paul’s creative relationship finally...
Bruindude88 2026/02/12
Ironic
I find it ironic you interrupt the show to mention about Peter Attia yet don’t mention Ari Emmanuel, zeke’s brother, involvement with Epstein
JollyGee33 2025/10/26
I just found and started listening, right now.
Did I just find my people? As I listen to commercials. I’m hopeful. In my simple description of “people” that are okay with enough for you less for me...
WenchyBroad 2025/10/19
Sam Kass is a Leader
I’d love to see this podcast platform even more thought leaders. I want my country to do a better job of elevating calm people with good stories, who ...
Zvbxrpl799 2025/08/01
Not asking the next big questions
The latest AI podcast was a straight puff piece that failed to ask about the morality of a technology that relies on scraped and stolen copyrighted ma...
StephinATX1 2025/07/07
Mind-Expanding Listening
I’ve been listening to The Next Big Idea since it launched, and it’s consistently my favorite podcast. The authors and ideas are nearly always insight...
Danny Boar 2025/07/06
Thought provoking and inspiring
This podcast can both get your brain thinking of what’s possible and inspire you to take on the hard work to make those possibilities into realities. ...
Longaway 2025/05/22
Moral ambition
Thank you. Inspiring podcast.
Noeleon 2024/12/08
The best
I listen to a lot of podcasts about various topics. This is by far one of the best. Erudite, articulate, very enlightening and educational and also im...
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