

Rapid Response
WaitWhat
The pace of change in our culture is unprecedented and shows no signs of slowing. So what is most important to pay attention to when striving to innovate, create, and lead? From the team behind Masters of Scale, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today's top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast Company, Bob Safian.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 30, 2025 • 41min
Pioneers of AI: Mark Cuban’s investment strategy in this new era of tech
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.

Dec 26, 2025 • 24min
Masters of Scale: How to make sense of today’s market, with Andrew Ross Sorkin
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.

Dec 23, 2025 • 34min
Resurrecting dire wolves is just the beginning for Colossal Biosciences’ Ben Lamm
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.

Dec 19, 2025 • 32min
AI in 2026: hype, whiplash, and… home robots? with Dr. Rana El Kaliouby
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.

Dec 16, 2025 • 25min
Lessons of Rapid Response for 2026
This year delivered whiplash: geopolitics, tariffs, and technology all shifting at once. And heading into 2026, the disruption isn’t easing up. In this special episode, host Bob Safian distills five hard-won lessons from Rapid Response this year on how to lead when the ground won’t stop moving. You’ll hear standout moments from Brian Chesky, Clara Shih, Marc Lore, José Andrés, and more, with practical takeaways for turning uncertainty into advantage.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.

Dec 12, 2025 • 28min
Can philanthropy rescue local journalism?
When the U.S. government cut funding for local news stations, the Knight Foundation moved quickly to help stabilize a rapidly eroding industry. President and CEO Maribel Pérez Wadsworth joins Rapid Response to unpack the evolving roles of philanthropy and government, and why philanthropic organizations must learn to move at the speed of the news cycle. Wadsworth also explores what traditional journalists can learn from digital creators, the risks of crossing political leaders, and how to stay impartial in an increasingly polarized environment.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.

Dec 9, 2025 • 36min
Kara Swisher takes on big tech, from Apple to Nvidia
Can ChatGPT dethrone Gemini? Is Tim Cook capable of leading Apple into the next wave of AI? As 2025 winds down, journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher joins Rapid Response to cut through the noise and decode what’s really happening across OpenAI, Meta, Google, and more. Swisher also sizes up the state of Disney, Netflix, and the escalating bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery. And in classic Swisher fashion, she doesn’t hold back — weighing in on Elon Musk’s eye-popping potential pay package, Mark Zuckerberg’s costly misfires at Meta, and what the future of AI means for human health and cognition.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.

Dec 5, 2025 • 30min
Hollywood’s AI rampage, with The Ankler’s Janice Min
Is Hollywood truly prepared for the existential threat AI poses? The Ankler CEO Janice Min returns to Rapid Response to dissect AI’s seismic impact on the entertainment industry — from “synthetic performances” and collapsing production jobs to the buzz around OpenAI’s animated film, Critterz. Min also weighs in on the brewing Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war, Netflix’s expansion into video podcasts, and Disney’s high-stakes standoff with YouTube.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.

Dec 2, 2025 • 27min
Embrace the multihyphenate career, with Chief’s Alison Moore
A recent New York Times headline — “Did Women Ruin the Workplace?” sparked a firestorm across social media. Bob Safian welcomes a leader pushing back on this notion with data and nuance: Alison Moore, CEO of Chief, the prestigious network for senior women executives. Drawing from an exclusive nationwide survey of women leaders, Moore unpacks how evolving career paths are being misread, why women-centered spaces remain vital, and the rise of the multihyphenate leader. As a former HBO executive, Moore also reveals how she’s applying lessons from Game of Thrones to Chief, and how she stays attuned to the cultural pulse, from AI to shifting leadership expectations.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.

Nov 28, 2025 • 22min
Labubu, FOMO, and the live shopping boom, with Whatnot’s Grant LaFontaine
While digital live shopping has been popular for years in Asia, the phenomenon has only recently begun to take off in the U.S., thanks in large part to the rise of retail disruptor Whatnot. The platform’s co-founder and CEO, Grant LaFontaine, joins Rapid Response to share how his team has managed to evoke the feel of in-person shopping inside an online experience, why he weighs “fun” versus FOMO as a customer-engagement tool, and how Whatnot’s breakthrough is influencing other retailers and brands. LaFontaine also digs into the startup’s response to deep-pocketed rivals like eBay, and why he believes the viral Labubu trend is here to stay.This episode is brought to you by Stripe. 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.


