Rapid Response

Episoade

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  No legacy, no playbook, no problem: Inside the Toronto Tempo's wild first season 24.07.2026 29min

  The Toronto Tempo arrived in the WNBA this season with record-breaking attendance, a 53-point single-game performance, and the weight of being the league's newest franchise. As the season pauses for All-Star Weekend, President Teresa Resch joins Rapid Response to take stock of what she's built, what's surprised her, and what she's still figuring out in real time. She talks about running a sports franchise like a startup, navigating the tension between short-term results and long-term vision, and how Canada's complicated political relationship with the US impacts building a fanbase from scratch. 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.
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  Delta's Ed Bastian on spiking fuel, summer travel, and a blunt reality check on AI 21.07.2026 28min

  Few companies have a better real-time read on the American economy than Delta, and few CEOs are more willing to say what they actually think. Ed Bastian returns to Rapid Response to share what Delta's booking data is telling him that the headlines aren't, why he's not convinced by AI until it moves his top line, and how he decided to yank congressional travel perks during the government shutdown. He also explains what it takes to stay optimistic when fuel costs are spiking, the Strait of Hormuz is in the news, and the world keeps finding new ways to be unpredictable.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.
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  OpenAI’s Critterz blowback: Director Nik Kleverov on year zero for Hollywood 17.07.2026 31min

  Critterz was one of the first feature films built primarily with AI, but OpenAI abruptly shut down Sora, the very tool its director was relying on. Nik Kleverov, Chief Creative Officer of Native Foreign, joins Rapid Response from the Cannes Lions festival to make the case for why AI isn't killing Hollywood, it's about to reinvent it. He breaks down why 2026 is year zero for mass adoption of AI in the film industry, and why human talent is more in demand than ever when great storytelling is the goal. Kleverov also confronts the darker side of the technology: deepfakes, scams, and the blurring line between real and generated, and offers a surprising possible solution.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.
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  The quiet reinvention of a $42b business, with Canva’s Cameron Adams 14.07.2026 23min

  In the last year, Canva redefined itself from the ground up. Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Cameron Adams joins Rapid Response live from the Cannes Lions festival to explain why the so-called SaaSpocalypse never kept him up at night, how Canva shifted from a design company to an AI company without losing what made it great, and why being only 1% of the way there is actually the most exciting place to be. Adams also shares the specific steps anyone can take to get real impact from AI tools rather than just falling down the rabbit hole, and makes the case that in a world of commoditized models, your organization's unfair advantage is the only thing that matters.Eager for more of Cam? Take a moment to listen and download his own podcast, Prompted!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.
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  Possible: Satya Nadella on making human and token capital compound 11.07.2026 1h

  In this recent episode of Possible, Reid Hoffman sits down with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella fresh off Microsoft Build 2026. The conversation goes wide: how AI is reshaping work, business, and society—and why the transformation sweeping through software development today is only a preview of what's coming for all knowledge work. Satya makes the case that human capital and "token capital" are now deeply intertwined, that companies—not just countries—must build their own AI capabilities, and that the organizations best positioned to thrive are those that can leverage their unique expertise inside intelligent systems. Reid and Satya also explore Microsoft's enterprise AI vision, Reid's work with Manas on AI-powered scientific discovery, lessons from past technological revolutions, and why demonstrating real, tangible benefits may be the most important thing the industry can do to earn—and keep—the public's trust.You can catch and subscribe to more Possible here: https://www.possible.fm/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The race to help Venezuela: Amazon's disaster relief machine 10.07.2026 20min

  Tens of thousands of Venezuelans remain missing after two deadly earthquakes. Bettina Stix, Global Director of Amazon Community Impact, joins Rapid Response to take us inside the disaster relief operation she built from scratch, now deployed across more than 200 global crises from the LA wildfires to the Caribbean. She explains what Amazon's Prime obsession with speed and logistics has to do with getting aid to people who need it most, why delivering what hasn't been asked for can make a disaster worse, and what she learned from an interview with Jeff Bezos that changed the course of her career. Donate to the International Red Cross Venezuela Earthquake AppealDonate to World Central Kitchen's Venezuela Relief EffortsDonate to the World Food Programme's Venezuela ResponseVisit 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.
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  Relevance is a sport: Gap’s Richard Dickson on swinging, missing, and winning 07.07.2026 26min

  Gap was never uncool. It just disappeared. CEO Richard Dickson joins Rapid Response to explain how he's bringing it back, using the same pop culture playbook he used to resurrect Barbie at Mattel. He breaks down why he tracks "brand love" metrics on a dashboard hourly, why Sydney Sweeney's viral jeans ad was actually good news for the whole industry, and why the biggest risk a brand can take is playing it safe. 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.
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  What Ken Burns’ The American Revolution warns us about today 03.07.2026 32min

  After a decade in development, legendary documentarian Ken Burns released his long-awaited series, The American Revolution. Burns returns to Rapid Response to share key lessons from the founding of the United States—and the parallels between the revolutionary era and today. He also reflects on his admiration for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, the obstacles he faces in his ongoing quest for truth, and why the pursuit of virtue is as essential to American democracy as the pursuit of happiness.This episode originally aired on Rapid Response in November 2025.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.
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  Cannes Lions’ battle of the brands: Starbucks’ stumble, World Cup ads, and more 30.06.2026 31min

  Every year at Cannes Lions, the advertising world takes stock of itself — what's working, what's not, and what it's pretending not to notice. Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder joins Rapid Response live from the festival to cut through the noise. She breaks down the industry's complicated relationship with AI, weighs in on the hottest and most overrated campaigns of the year including sharp takes on Nike, Adidas, and Starbucks, and explains why the path from CMO to CEO is suddenly the most interesting career move in business. Treseder also gets candid about the brand of Elon Musk post-IPO, what Autodesk's $350 million investment in the next generation of workers actually signals, and what separates a brand collaboration that breaks through from one that just breaks.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.
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  Gina Raimondo’s bipartisan fight for workers in the age of AI 25.06.2026 28min

  This morning, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo launched RAISE US, an initiative to directly confront what she calls America's missing piece: a people strategy to match its technology strategy. Raimondo joins Rapid Response to explain how she built a $500 million war chest, secured bipartisan backing, and signed up launch partners from Bank of America to Anthropic before the ink was dry. She also makes the case against the two most popular answers to AI displacement — slowing down development and Universal Basic Income, and explains why neither will actually work. What will? A collective reinvention of how America trains, transitions, and values its workers. The window, she warns, is narrower than most people think.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.
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  $300m in year two. The controversy came free, with David Protein’s Peter Rahal 23.06.2026 20min

  David protein bars went from startup to one of the hottest consumer products in America in under two years. But the ride has been anything but smooth. Founder and CEO Peter Rahal joins Rapid Response to talk about building a breakout brand through lawsuits, a Jeffrey Epstein association, and the kind of social media heat most companies would run from. Rahal also revisits his $600 million sale of RXBar to Kellogg and what he learned about keeping your edge after a defining win.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.
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  IBM’s $10 billion bet on what comes after AI 18.06.2026 41min

  While many tech companies race to build ever-larger AI models, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna sees the future differently. Speaking with host Bob Safian before a live audience during New York Tech Week, Krishna explains why enterprises are overcomplicating AI adoption, what kinds of risks leaders should be taking right now, and how to weigh AI's costs against its benefits. He also shares why IBM believes quantum computing will reshape the next era of technology.Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The U.S. at 250: The case for reckoning and rebuild, with Ian Bremmer 16.06.2026 31min

  As America hurtles toward its 250th birthday, the world is watching. Ian Bremmer, Eurasia Group President and PBS host, joins Rapid Response to give his unvarnished read on the state of Brand America. He shares how he’s advising business and political leaders around the globe, why he believes the US is overdue for a revolution, and what the widening gap between American wealth and American opportunity means for the country's standing in the world. Bremmer also reveals the defiant way he plans to celebrate July 4th, and makes the case for what it will take to extend the great American experiment another 250 years.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.
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  U.S. Soccer CEO: The unseen stakes of this World Cup 12.06.2026 24min

  The World Cup arriving on American soil isn't just a moment. For U.S. Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson, it's a launchpad. Batson joins Rapid Response to reveal what’s on the line for the US men's team, where things stand with Coach Pochettino's future, and why this tournament is nothing like the last time America hosted in 1994. He also makes the case that winning a World Cup and growing a soccer nation are the same mission — and that the flywheel connecting pro leagues, youth development, national teams, and community access is finally starting to spin. Whether you've got World Cup fever or not, Batson's vision for building a winning culture from the ground up is a leadership story worth hearing.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.
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  World Cup kickoff: Goals, greed, and geopolitics, with ESPN’s Sam Borden 09.06.2026 32min

  As the World Cup kicks off this Thursday, scrutiny surrounds ticket prices, disrupted fan travel, potential ICE activity, and FIFA’s murky dealings. ESPN Global Sports Correspondent Sam Borden has covered this tournament from Brazil to Qatar, and he joins Rapid Response to break down the USA's real chance, what Iran's presence on American soil actually means, and whether hosting the world's biggest sporting event is a blessing or a liability right now. Plus, Borden makes the most passionate case you'll hear for why the World Cup matters more than any scoreline.Correction: A government official proposed that Brazil’s Arena de Amazonia be used as a detention facility, but that plan was never enacted.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.
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  Pioneers of AI: How fast can you upskill in AI? We did a sprint to find out. 06.06.2026 34min

  We all feel the urgency: learn to use AI, or risk falling behind at work. And we all know there's an upside: AI can reduce tedious tasks, streamline operations, and boost output. But knowing is half the battle (maybe even less) and implementing AI needs to happen across an entire organization. So what does it take to start?Well, here at WaitWhat (the company behind this podcast!) we paused all operations for three days to find out. From editorial curation to visual design to event planning, we split into teams for an “AI Sprint.” And this Pioneers of AI episode takes you to the starting blocks on the track with us, as we test new tools, discover their limitations, and find where AI can deliver on its promise.Learn more about Pioneers of AI: http://pioneersof.ai/Follow Pioneers of AI on all channels: https://linktr.ee/pioneersofai See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  A radical fix for the broken book business, with Madeline McIntosh 05.06.2026 29min

  The book industry has a problem, and it isn't a lack of content. Madeline McIntosh spent decades navigating publishing's biggest upheavals, from the e-commerce revolution at Amazon to leading Penguin Random House as CEO. Now she's betting that the whole model needs to be rebuilt from scratch. She joins Rapid Response to explain why she walked away from one of the most powerful seats in publishing to co-found Authors Equity, and what a small startup can do that a global giant simply can't. McIntosh also takes on AI's limits as a creative force, explains why BookTok is rewriting the rules of the marketplace, and makes the case that in an age of scale, hyper-focus might be the most powerful competitive advantage of all.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.
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  The race no one can win: AI’s anti-human crisis, with Aza Raskin 02.06.2026 39min

  Big Tech is moving fast on AI. But who's watching out for the rest of us? Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, has spent years sounding the alarm about where the race to build powerful AI is actually taking us. He joins Rapid Response to expose the incentive structures quietly pushing Silicon Valley toward dangerous territory, and to make the case that it's not too late to change course. Raskin also unpacks the significance of Pope Leo XIV's sweeping new encyclical on AI, what China's AI priorities reveal about the global race, and why the hidden assumptions baked into AI systems may be the most underestimated risk of all.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.
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  AI warfare and the race for a million-drone army, with Shield AI’s Brandon Tseng 29.05.2026 27min

  From Ukraine to the Middle East, Shield AI's autonomous drones are deployed on the frontlines. Co-founder and President Brandon Tseng joins Rapid Response to take us inside the defense tech explosion and the fierce debate over AI in modern warfare. Tseng also confronts the hard questions: how seriously should we take China's military advances, can we trust the US and its allies to wield AI responsibly, and what does it say about entrepreneurship that this former Navy SEAL finds building a company every bit as grueling as combat?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.
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  Why success destroys the companies we love, with Eric Ries 26.05.2026 48min

  What if the way we think about business value, trust, and capitalism itself is fundamentally broken? Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup changed how a generation of entrepreneurs build companies. Now, Ries takes aim at some of the most sacred business assumptions today in his new book, Incorruptible. Ries joins Rapid Response to share what he witnessed firsthand in the clash between Anthropic and the US government, and why he believes the current system is failing the very people it's supposed to serve. He also brings in-the-trenches stories from Cloudflare, Novo Nordisk, and Whole Foods to make the case that courage, not capital, may be the most undervalued asset in business right now.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.