Advertise on podcast: Boss Class from The Economist

Andrew Palmer calls on Hilary Gridley, writer and AI coach, and Ethan Mollick, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, to answer your questions. They talk about writing the best prompts, avoiding burnout, how to protect against job insecurity and whether AI can make a killer PowerPoint slide. Guests and hosts - Andrew Palmer, host of Boss Class - Hilary Gridley, writer and AI coach - Ethan Mollick, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Topics covered - Generative AI in the workplace - Accountability - Job insecurity Resources Hilary Gridley’s Substack https://hils.substack.com/ Ethan Mollick’s Substack https://www.oneusefulthing.org/ To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. To share this episode with a non-subscriber go to the episode page and click Share > 'Give as Gift'. https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/02/26/bonus-your-questions-on-ai-at-work

Will AI get so good that it outcompetes humans at every job? Tom Blomfield, a partner at Y Combinator, a startup accelerator, believes it will. The founder of Monzo, an online bank, has a provocative view of the future. He spoke to Andrew Palmer about what the rapid progress of AI could mean for work and for society. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. To share this episode with a non-subscriber go to the episode page and click Share > 'Give as Gift'. https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/02/12/interview-tom-blomfield

How does one of Silicon Valley’s leading AI investors think about the technology’s potential? Sarah Guo was already alive to the opportunities of AI a decade ago. Conviction, her venture-capital firm, has raised $300m for “AI native” start-ups. Andrew Palmer talks to her about the problems that AI solves for businesses, why “the floor is lava” and how we might be using email in 5 years. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. To share this episode with a non-subscriber go to the episode page and click Share > 'Give as Gift'. https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/02/05/interview-sarah-guo-ai-investor

A conversation about the potential and limits of AI agents with the co-founder of Sierra, an agentic customer-service company. Bret Taylor, who is also the chairman of OpenAI, tells Andrew Palmer about the imperfections of the technology, the competition between model-makers and vendors, and how he uses AI to manage. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. This episode is also available to watch on The Economist’s YouTube channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How should employees and bosses be using the technology right now? And how should all of us prepare for the future? Andrew Palmer returns for a third season of Boss Class. This time it’s all about AI. In the first episode, he starts introducing AI into his daily work routines, and receives a nasty shock. Guests Tom Blomfield, Partner at Y Combinator Ethan Mollick, Professor at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Ludwig Siegele, AI Editorial Lead, The Economist Ruth Berry, AI engineer, The Economist Topics Generative AI at work To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. In this episode, Andrew asks Claude, a generative AI programme, to write his management column for him. You can find Andrew’s column here and Claude’s version here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peering into the near future of AI. We can't know where AI will take us over the coming years. But it's certain that the technology will improve. In the penultimate episode, Andrew Palmer shares a vision of the near future, with the help of four people who are already living there. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. To share this episode with a non-subscriber go to the episode page and click Share > 'Give as Gift'. https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/01/29/5-closed-problem-spaces

Are entry-level jobs done for? AI has already transformed the recruitment process for graduates: AI-written job applications are flooding inboxes. The bigger fear is that the machines will close off entire career paths. What does this mean for young jobseekers - and for the managers who would normally hire them? To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. To share this episode with a non-subscriber go to the episode page and click Share > 'Give as Gift'. https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/01/29/4-genai-v-gen-z

How can managers avoid the pitfalls of AI? Workplace AI is littered with disappointments. But some bosses have already figured out how to make it sing—and are reaping the rewards. What can we learn from them? To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. To share this episode with a non-subscriber go to the episode page and click Share > 'Give as Gift'. https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/01/29/3-the-easy-button

What happens when everyone can code? Try your hand at coding with AI and you might feel like you can perform magic. But if even Andrew Palmer can write his own code using generative AI, is this good news or a disaster waiting to happen? To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. To share this episode with a non-subscriber go to the episode page and click Share > 'Give as Gift'. https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/01/29/2-feeling-the-vibe

What's your unfair advantage over AI? In a future where computers can outperform humans at many tasks, where will people still have an edge? Andrew Palmer assesses the value of being human by visiting a chess tournament, writing the best management hip-hop song ever and facing his own clone for a final time. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. To share this episode with a non-subscriber go to the episode page and click Share > 'Give as Gift'. https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/01/29/6-the-human-defence

AI is changing how we work. It's turning us all into managers. Be a good one. The Economist’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, takes on the bots in the third season of Boss Class. From cloning to coding, agents to entry-level jobs, he tackles the threat head on and figures out how to turn anxiety into opportunity. Along the way he meets bulls and bears and the people who can help you to master management in the age of AI. Full Season 3 out 29th January 2026. To listen, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Andrew Palmer goes to drama school for tips on how to be a better public speaker. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Michelle Gass launched iconic drinks at Starbucks and steered the Kohl’s department store through the pandemic. Now, she’s looking for the “pumpkin spice latte of denim” at the world’s best-known jeans brand. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

For Season 2, we’re releasing an extended interview alongside each episode. This week: Who needs search engines when chatbots can answer every query for you? That’s the question confronting the head of Search at the world’s most popular website. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Forget the hammocks and ping-pong tables. Creativity takes work. Managers at Google, Lego and a pair of AI startups share advice on breaking through. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.