noplace, a new social media app for Gen Z, rocketed to the top of the app download charts this summer. Founder Tiffany Zhong (or “TZ” as she calls herself) joins Rapid Response to share what has gotten young users so excited. As a longtime advisor to brands on Gen Z trends and habits, TZ offers valuable insight about what authentic, no-BS business leadership looks like in 2024. TZ also shares the story behind her moniker “The World’s Youngest VC,” how she used Twitter to land early support...

While some artists complain that AI uses their music as training data, Will.i.am argues that it’s no different than Prince and Michael Jackson taking inspiration from James Brown. Will joins Rapid Response to talk about his investments in the “dawn of intelligent media,” including his new app RAiDIO.fyi — AI technology that he contends will be pre-installed in every car of the future. Will shares surprising lessons from his MBA studies at Harvard, why developers are like rappers, how he works...

Non-alcoholic beer is booming, boosted by a cultural shift in Gen Z drinking habits and a pivot to healthy living. Athletic Brewing has become the biggest non-alcoholic beer brand in the US, fueling the buzz. Co-founder & CEO Bill Shufelt joins Rapid Response to share how Athletic is approaching a critical crossroad. After securing endorsements from JJ Watt to Karlie Kloss as well as a partnership with Arsenal Football Club, Athletic now faces a flurry of beer industry titans flooding...

With student loan debt at record highs, higher education is at a crossroads. Campus is an all-online community college that’s built a business model around competitive pricing, resources for students (like giving them a laptop and paying for home internet), and compensating professors well above the national average. The start-up also achieves high graduation rates, while maintaining an impressive bottom line. Campus founder and Chancellor Tade Oyerinde shares how he wooed investors like Sam...

How will NBC’s Peacock keep up the momentum from a buzzy summer of Olympic glory and Love Island drama? Peacock President Kelly Campbell joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to share her strategy for the streaming wars, the role of NFL games and other live sports, and the interplay between NBC's plans and Peacock's future. From Gen Z viewing habits to Emmy nominations, Campbell lays out a vision so expansive that it might remind you of a cable TV bundle. Visit the Rapid Response website...

As the Democratic National Convention gets underway, CNN’s Van Jones still can’t quite believe Vice President Harris’s glow-up from “cringe” to a Beyonce-like star. The political analyst and entrepreneur joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to discuss his new initiative, Dream Machine, which aims to make AI more accessible for multicultural communities. Jones also shares his thoughts on the evolution of Elon Musk, the vital issues that he believes are being neglected in the campaign...

Deepfake technology and the malevolent use of AI is causing widespread anxiety, especially as we approach November’s U.S. election. Adobe’s Scott Belsky joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to explain how deepfakes are actually created, and how developers like Adobe are pioneering new ways to verify human-generated content for everyday consumers. Belsky also shares valuable insights about how AI could usher in an era of prosperity for small businesses — plus how it will inevitably shift our...

Is this the craziest non-pandemic summer travel season ever? The Points Guy’s Brian Kelly joins Rapid Response to talk about how Boeing’s safety issues are impacting flying habits, the CrowdStrike outage and Delta’s response, Southwest’s major pivot, and more. Plus: the airline industry's best-kept secrets and insider deals right now.  Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBUbZOe0kkw See...

Plant-based food companies were on the rise, when Impossible Foods’ Peter McGuinness first appeared on Rapid Response in 2022. Today, meat alternatives like Impossible are struggling on sales. McGuinness tells host Bob Safian where plant-based brands made big missteps, and why the industry’s marketing should evolve – potentially away from climate change messaging. McGuinness also shares how Impossible leverages retail partners like Starbucks and Burger King, lessons he learned from scaling...

Women are losing sleep, falling behind at work, suffering pain, and struggling in their relationships — all because we don’t talk enough about menopause or treat its symptoms. Midi Health’s Joanna Strober founded her company to tap the vast underserved market for this area of women’s health, which is finally getting mainstream attention. Strober shares with Rapid Response host Bob Safian the stakes of ignoring perimenopause and menopause, how she endured bias in fundraising to eventually...

The high-flying Angel City Football Club has new controlling stake owners: Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, USC Annenberg dean, Willow Bay. Their investment takes Angel City to a valuation of $250 million — the highest ever for a professional women’s sports team. When the Los Angeles team started, franchises in its league went for as little as $2 million. In this episode, originally recorded in February 2024 for Masters of Scale, ACFC co-founders Kara Nortman and Julie Uhrman talk to host...

Controversy, frat house culture, viral moments — when you hear ‘Barstool Sports,’ this may be what comes to mind. But former CEO Erika Ayers Badan is here to tell you that the business model that made Barstool into an online cultural juggernaut is replicable and poised to re-shape the food and lifestyle industry. Ayers Badan shares with Rapid Response why she decided to make a dramatic career pivot — taking over Food52 — and why running Barstool was like “a heart attack every day.” She also...

Reid Hoffman is a high-profile investor and entrepreneur, and suddenly, a much scrutinized political actor. His support for Kamala Harris and other Democrats and distaste for former President Trump has plunged him into headlines, in opposition to Elon Musk and others. Reid, a host of sister podcast Masters of Scale, joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to take us inside Silicon Valley’s reaction to Harris’s presidential bid, why some business leaders are embracing Trump, and what the...

With Kamala Harris suddenly poised to become the Democratic presidential nominee, expectations have been turned on their head for voters, fundraisers, and the business world. Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to share what his sources have said behind the scenes about what drove Biden’s decision-making, the role of business leaders going forward, and how the Harris 2024 enterprise is going into startup mode. Visit the Rapid Response website...

What do NBA fans want? A phone charger in every seat? This fall, the LA Clippers will welcome guests to their new home: the Intuit Dome. Team owner, Steve Ballmer, joins AT&T CEO John Stankey to talk with host Bob Safian about how tech can amplify the live, in-game experience. Screens, cameras, and mobile devices are an integral part of their vision, whether it’s replays or fan-cams or real-time data. Ballmer and Stankey are an engaging buddy act as they trade ideas about innovation,...

Summer’s not so hot at the movie theaters, and the same goes for streaming. Nothing’s come close to last year’s Barbie-Oppenheimer success, and Janice Min of entertainment news startup Ankler Media can’t say she’s surprised. Janice vets Hollywood’s offerings for the summer entertainment cycle, weighs in on deals from Paramount/Skydance to the astronomical price of NBA rights, and lays out the financial reality for media companies in an age of scrambling for everyone’s digital...

Once upon a time, dating apps were distinct, each catering to a different demographic or lifestyle. Today they’ve blurred together, like an endless stream of swipes, deepening a trend of user burnout. In that struggling sea of love, Hinge stands out, continuing to grow and sustaining social relevance. Hinge’s founder and CEO Justin McLeod joins Rapid Response to explore the state of dating in 2024, how Hinge is experimenting with new features to target ghosting, and why he’s so excited about...

With 346 events over 17 days at this summer’s Paris Olympics, how do we zero in on the most important events, storylines, and takeaways? CEO of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Sarah Hirshland, returns to Rapid Response to provide an insider’s guide, including a preview of Team USA’s strategy. Hirshland also talks about the latest Chinese doping scandal, how changes to the NCAA put the future of collegiate sport in jeopardy, and plans for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.  Visit the...

We are excited to bring back one of our favorite episodes from the past year. In our attention economy, what does it take to capture the cultural zeitgeist? VaynerMedia’s Gary Vaynerchuk – or GaryVee – joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to preach the need for widespread empathy and fearless leadership, and he uncovers the secrets to his new platform’s unconventional scale. Plus, Vaynerchuk shares why he is the only person at his company with firing privileges, and why your happiness is...

The fashion world is at a sudden inflection point. Big luxury players are struggling, e-commerce markets are floundering, and ultra-fast players like Shein are disrupting. The Business of Fashion’s Imran Amed takes us inside the tumult, providing a framework to understand the trends and their larger economic impact. Plus: how manufacturers are adapting to new sustainability scrutiny, and the first year of Pharrell Williams’ tenure at Louis Vuitton.  Visit the Rapid Response website...

The ocean is deep, dark, and largely overlooked in discussions of climate change. Philippe Cousteau Jr., grandson of the legendary ocean restorationist, inventor, and documentarian, Jacques Cousteau explains the immense impact of carbon in our seas. Cousteau joins Rapid Response to talk about missteps that plague the climate movement, lessons he learned from his grandfather that could reverse those errors, and why we need to leverage market dynamics to accelerate progress. Cousteau is a...

While many plant-based food brands have struggled recently, Pinky Cole’s fast food chain Slutty Vegan keeps growing, with new restaurants across the U.S. Pinky sits down with Rapid Response host Bob Safian to explain how she’s scaling the brand despite lawsuits, social media attacks and a flurry of vegan restaurant competitor closures. Pinky also shares the story behind her recent keynote at Savannah State University, where she gifted the HBCU grads almost $9 million in entrepreneurial tools...

When Elon Musk, Karlie Kloss, Travis Kelce, and a who’s-who of media, branding, and tech execs all converge, there’s plenty of buzz. From the Cannes Lions festival in the south of France, Autodesk’s Dara Treseder talks with Bob Safian about the key themes, lessons, and intrigue that emerged. She explains why AI and women’s sports dominated much of the conversation, how the attention economy is giving way to the ‘intention economy,’ and why influencers don’t want you calling them “influencers”...

Can nuclear energy, solar and wind farms, and carbon capture scale fast enough to save the planet? GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian on stage at the Climatech conference in Boston to detail how green energy is evolving in 2024. GE Vernova is a new company spun out from General Electric, and helps power around a quarter of the world’s electricity. Strazik explains how today’s electrical grid limits renewable energy’s potential, and why it desperately needs a...