Advertise on podcast: Rapid Response

Why does uncertainty make us less rational with money? And who should we trust for financial advice online? Vivian Tu, financial educator and CEO of Your Rich BFF, joins Rapid Response to break down today’s personal finance risks and opportunities, from “lifestyle inflation” and the most common money mistakes smart people make to how Gen Z is navigating 2026 volatility and a shifting job market. Tu also previews her new book Well-Endowed, weighs in on tech stock valuations and prediction markets, and shares the surprising lessons she’s taken from Rihanna. You can find Vivian's new book, Well Endowed, here: https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/wellendowed Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TV host, producer, author, and UN Goodwill Ambassador Padma Lakshmi joins Rapid Response with candid advice for business leaders on speaking out, showing courage, and staying true to themselves, particularly amid the Trump Administration’s violent immigration crackdown. A passionate voice at the intersection of food, culture, and identity, Lakshmi shares how she’s shaking up food media with her new series America’s Culinary Cup, and offers a refreshingly human take on modern work life, including why she chooses to take zoom meetings from the comfort of her own bed. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As Super Bowl LX nears, sports betting has become inseparable from the modern fan experience, even as scandals ripple through the NBA, MLB, and NCAA. Journalist Danny Funt joins Rapid Response to explore his new book, Everybody Loses, and explain how legalized gambling is transforming leagues, media, and the economics of fandom. From the dominance of FanDuel and DraftKings to the rise of prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, Funt reveals who’s winning, who’s being exploited, and whether the industry is headed for a reckoning. If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling, you can call 1-800-662-HELP.  Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As global leaders disperse from the World Economic Forum, LinkedIn co-founder and tech investor Reid Hoffman joins Rapid Response to break down the biggest challenges and opportunities facing business today, from political headwinds tied to immigration and geopolitics to AI’s real-time impact on industries like music and healthcare. Hoffman also explains why fears of a tech bubble aren’t shaping his investing, what it really means to be an AI-first organization, and why this moment calls for CEOs to speak up and show courage. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Grammy Awards return next week at a pivotal moment for the music industry, one shaped by surging Latin artists, resurgent rock legends, and even charting AI acts. To unpack what will make this year’s broadcast distinctive, The Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. joins Rapid Response to share how Grammy winners are chosen, how the show navigates social action and potential boycotts, and how music both reflects and influences the broader business marketplace. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mayors are unique leaders in America, often more loved and less polarized than state or federal politicians, with a different mandate and metric for success. Mayor of Oklahoma City, David Holt, is also the current president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and he joins Rapid Response to discuss how cities deliver for their residents, navigate macroeconomic forces and federal policy, and improve public trust. Holt shares what it means to govern a politically “purple” city, and how forces of politics and society may make us appear to be more polarized than we really are. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From new vaccine guidance to nutrition policy to AI, the health care industry is already navigating massive change in 2026. New York Times health care reporter Sarah Kliff joins Rapid Response to break down major shifts reshaping American health — including new vaccine recommendations, an updated food pyramid, the continued rise of GLP-1 drugs, and OpenAI’s Health GPT. Kliff explains why these changes matter far beyond hospitals and clinics, and why leaders across sectors should be paying close attention as health care, technology, and policy collide. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What did the latest holiday shopping season reveal about consumer confidence as the year begins? Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach joins Rapid Response to unpack the signals he’s seeing across global spending — from shifting consumer sentiment to AI’s growing role in financial security. Miebach also explores how credit cards fit into a future shaped by crypto, digital wallets, and agent-driven commerce, and what it will take for businesses to stay competitive amid continued market disruption. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One year on from the catastrophic LA wildfires, journalist, author, and MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff joins Rapid Response to examine what the fires reveal about America’s growing age of disaster. Drawing from his new book Firestorm, Soboroff shares hard lessons from the aftermath, exposing systemic failures, unlikely heroics, and what today’s recovery efforts tell us about how the U.S. will respond to the next crisis. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we turn from reflection to what’s ahead for a new year, Rapid Response presents host Bob Safian’s predictions for the most pressing issues business leaders could face in 2026. Join Bob and producer Alex Morris for a surprisingly hopeful conversation about what’s next – from an AI reality check to energy prices, immigration, and even the World Cup. Safian walks us through what might happen, and why being “right” matters less than sparking debate, testing assumptions, and taking a clear-headed approach in the year ahead. Read all of Bob's predictions: https://www.fastcompany.com/91462356/8-bold-business-predictions-for-2026 Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The promise of fusion is enormous: clean, reliable energy at a scale that could change everything from climate outcomes to global prosperity. But how close are we? And what’s still standing between today’s breakthroughs and tomorrow’s power plants? Bob Mumgaard, co-founder and CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, joins Rapid Response to explain why fusion is different from fission, what recent advances have unlocked, and what the race to industrialize fusion will require. And with Trump Media making an unexpected recent entry into the fusion arena, the push toward a tipping point is getting even more urgent. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Cuban has spent decades as a serial entrepreneur and investor, with one of the best track records on the planet (including celebrity status on ABC’s Shark Tank). In this episode of Pioneers of AI, Cuban joins host Rana El Kaliouby for a wide-ranging conversation about whether we are in an AI bubble, how he’s applying his investment philosophy to AI, and why the AI world is tending to excite him less and less each day. Learn more about Pioneers of AI: http://pioneersof.ai/ Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is the stock market in an AI bubble? What happens if it bursts? To understand our current economic moment, it’s essential to understand history. In this episode of Masters of Scale, host Jeff Berman is joined by journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin onstage at the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco. His new book is 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History–and How It Shattered a Nation. Sorkin explains the lessons we can learn from this historical moment – and how they provide cautionary tales. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/newsletter/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this encore episode of Rapid Response, we revisit a scientific breakthrough that set the internet ablaze: The ‘de-extinction’ of the dire wolf. While many celebrated Colossal Biosciences’ announcement, the experiment also sparked controversy throughout the scientific community — namely the ethics of birthing and re-wilding extinct animals, and whether Colossal’s dire wolf puppies are the real thing. Colossal’s co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm joined Rapid Response to take us inside the dire wolf journey, revealing how the startup attracted a roster of celebrity investors, and what the company’s technology means for not only conservation and biodiversity, but potentially the future of human health.  Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How should leaders prepare for AI’s accelerating impact on work and everyday life? AI scientist, entrepreneur, and Pioneers of AI host Dr. Rana El Kaliouby returns to Rapid Response to share her predictions for the year ahead — from physical AI entering the real world to what it means to onboard AI into your org chart. El Kaliouby also cuts through today’s biggest AI headlines, including the chatbot arms race, Instacart’s dynamic pricing controversy, and whether we’re really living through an AI bubble. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.