Big Questions with Cal Fussman

Cal became curious about an intriguing character in the HBO documentary, The Weight of Gold, which addresses a culture of depression among American Olympians that has led to a series of suicides. So he immediately called Katie Uhlaender to find out what makes an Olympic life and how depression finds its way inside it. After competing in four Winter Olympics in the Skeleton event, and losing a medal to an opponent who was involved in a doping scandal, Katie finds herself in a position to be a voice for the athlete in a system that only seems to care about results. Cal believes we shouldn't be taking health insurance away from our Olympians the moment they're off the conveyer belt any more than we should be taking it away from people who get fired or furloughed during the coronavirus. Lots to think about.

Cal speaks with the director of the HBO documentary The Weight of Gold about the state of depression faced by many American Olympians, and the subsequent suicides. Swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever, narrates the doc and leaves you wondering how the support system might be transformed. It's a good opening for you to think about how well your own health care set up takes care of you.

The former Surgeon General explains to Cal how we might rethink our health care system. This is a wise conversation at a time of COVID 19 when millions of people are losing their insurance due to furloughs and layoffs. Dr. Murthy examines the feelings of loneliness affecting patients and physicians in our system, and gives us some hope that we'll be able to do better. If you're not looking closely at health care now, you just may be six months down the road. Start with Cal now.

There is no better time to think about how to change, and there was no one who loved change more than former General Electric CEO Jack Welch. Cal remembers a day he spent with him shortly after Welsh retired and shows how Welsh's words influenced him when it came time to pivot after The Great Recession, and again now in the time of Covid 19. Find out how this podcast might change YOU.

No city may be more vulnerable to the coronavirus than Las Vegas. Every year it was inviting 42 million people in for dinner. The city's economy is dependent on those visitors, and Cal looks at the history of Las Vegas for a clue as to how the city might reinvent itself after the virus subsides. Entrepreneur Tom Breitling, author of the book Double or Nothing, and some of his friends explain why they're betting on a big Vegas comeback. This podcast offers lessons in reinvention and hints at why Las Vegas may be the place to be in 2022.

Cal talks with one of the greatest tennis players of all time about the attitude and strategies that can guide us all through the different stages of reinvention. There are few people on the planet more equipped to talk about this evolution than Maria, who left Russia at the age of six with her dad to come to America and play tennis. Her dad had roughly $700 when they arrived. Maria went on to the IMG Academy, and on to win Wimbledon at the age of 17. She won all the Grand Slam events before retiring early this year, but, more than that, she became a model, UN Ambassador, owner of a candy company, art collector and investor. She has achieved mastery on many levels – and offers us all tips on how to get to where we want to go next.

After almost a half a year of being cooped up and inhaling news of the coronavirus, the killing of George Floyd by police and the subsequent anger, stress and uncertainty all over the world, Cal got an opportunity to get healthy in an unexpected way. The founders of Madefor reached out to him with a 10-month challenge to improve all aspects of his health and it all starts with… drinking more water. After only a couple of days, Cal felt so much better he was hooked. Blake Mycoskie, the founder of Tom Shoes, Pat Dossett, a Navy Seal, and Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford, explain what Madefor can do for you.

After watching the comic/sage talk about our national reality on his recently-released special called 8:46, Cal feels nudged to offer up his own thoughts on how we might move forward. Cal is certainly no comedian, but he does have a few stories to tell and some questions to meet the moment.

Cal gets on the phone with the Brooklyn Borough President in the midst of the recent protests, rioting and looting to talk about the complexity of our national problem. Eric was given a racial beat down by police, who repeatedly kicked him in the groin when he was 15, and was later urged to make a change to the system by becoming a police officer himself. He served in the NYPD for 22 years, retiring at the rank of captain, and now is running for mayor of New York City. Eric sees our current landscape through experiences that few others have had. It's very rare to hear a conversation with a politician like this. Don't miss it.

Cal questions one of the world's great pivoters. Jacqueline has turned an interview she bungled right off the bat when she graduated from college into a career that has influenced hundreds of millions of lives. That includes bringing food to those without funds in Los Angeles during the coronavirus and bringing solar energy to a hundred million people in Africa. As CEO of the entrepreneurial investment firm Acumen, Jacqueline has been named one of the Top 100 global thinkers by Foreign Policy, one of the World's 100 Greatest Living Business Minds by Forbes and one of the 25 Smartest People of the Decade by The Daily Beast. For anybody looking to pivot or reinvent themselves, this episode may change your life.