Episodios

  • A Food Crisis Is Brewing. Are We Ready? (Ad-free)
    Oct 16 2025
    Caleb is joined by Sam Kass, former senior food policy advisor to President Obama and the chef who cooked dinner for the first family most nights. Now a partner at a venture capital firm investing in food and agriculture tech, Sam has a new book out, The Last Supper: How to Overcome the Coming Food Crisis. The situation, he says, is bleak. Almonds, artichokes, chocolate, coffee, oysters, rice, wine — all at risk due to climate change. And that’s not even close to the full list. Our food system is both driving the climate crisis and being devastated by it. But Sam argues we can still avert the worst if we start with culture, fix our policies, and deploy the right technology. (4:00) Cooking for the Obamas (7:49) How vulnerable is our food supply? (12:45) Can fixing the food system bring us together? (24:29) The food policies we need (27:38) Are we making America healthy again? (35:42) The technologies that can make a difference — Thoughts? Email us at podcast@nextbigideaclub.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Más Menos
    43 m
  • The Future Is Going to Be Great (Ad-free)
    Oct 9 2025
    Dave Blundin has co-founded 23 companies, co-hosts the Moonshots podcast, runs the VC firm Link Ventures, teaches at MIT, and has been building neural networks since the 1980s. His take: “[AI is] under-hyped. It's absolutely going to change the world in the next couple of years more than any change in human history. There's nothing even vaguely comparable to it.” — (7:37) “Stop sleeping. Rush to everything you do.” (15:16) Why he started building neural nets at MIT in the 1980s (16:19) Should you finish college or start a business? (20:38) Why best friends are the best co-founders (25:00) San Francisco is still king, but Boston is AI startup central (28:06) “The chip shortage is going to be incredibly bad.” (34:26) The AI energy shortage (36:32) Are we in an AI bubble? (55:44) The case for human immortality before 2050 (1:02:00) Advice for first-time founders (and second-time, and 23rd-time) — Catch up on our other AI episodes with this Spotify playlist Follow Rufus on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ Subscribe to our daily newsletter, ⁠⁠Book of the Day⁠⁠ ✉️ Send us an email: ⁠⁠podcast@nextbigideaclub.com⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Más Menos
    1 h y 30 m
  • PRIMAL INTELLIGENCE: You’re Smarter Than You Realize (Ad-free)
    Oct 2 2025
    Angus Fletcher has a PhD in literature from Yale and teaches English at Ohio State. He’s passionate about Shakespeare. He probably owns a tweed jacket. In other words, he’s the last person you’d expect to receive the Army’s fourth-highest civilian honor. But when he’s not parsing King Lear or dissecting Hamlet, Angus is pioneering research into narrative cognition — our ability to think in stories — and how it can make us smarter. When the Army put his theories to the test, his methods reshaped how soldiers learn to think clearly under pressure and act decisively in volatile environments. Now, he has distilled this work into a new book called Primal Intelligence. Malcolm Gladwell says it's confirmation that Angus "has never had an uninteresting thought." We think you’ll agree. — — — (04:21) What is Primal Intelligence? (8:24) Computers Think in Probabilities. Humans Think in Possibilities. (11:08) The Art of Intuition: Spotting Exceptions to Rules (29:59) Why Storytelling is the Essence of Human Intelligence (34:13) How to Plan (35:38) The Role of Emotion in Decision Making (45:27) How to Use Common Sense to ‘Tune Your Anxiety’ (49:34) What Great Innovators Have in Common (51:25) The Best Way to Become a Better Communicator (54:22) Don’t Freak Out About A.I. Do Freak Out the State of Your Intelligence. — — — Want to connect? Follow Rufus on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Subscribe to our daily newsletter, ⁠Book of the Day⁠ ✉️ Send us an email: ⁠podcast@nextbigideaclub.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Más Menos
    1 h y 2 m
  • STEVEN PINKER: How Common Knowledge and Rationality Make the World Go Round (Ad-free)
    Sep 25 2025
    Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker shares five key insights from his brand new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows. He reveals how “common knowledge” — the hidden force of knowing what others know — shapes everything from financial bubbles and political revolutions to why we say “Netflix and chill.” Then we revisit our 2021 conversation with Steve about rationality, where he explains why smart people believe dumb things, why we're terrible at assessing risk, and how our species can be both brilliantly rational and spectacularly irrational at the same time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Más Menos
    1 h y 7 m
  • AI & THE BRAIN: How Different Are They? (Ad-free)
    Sep 18 2025
    Today's AI runs on neural networks, a design originally inspired by the human brain. As these systems grow more sophisticated, they're raising a profound question: Even if they don't work exactly like our brains, could something resembling a "mind" eventually emerge from the machines we're building? Guests: Gaurav Suri and Jay McClelland Book: The Emergent Mind: How Intelligence Arises in People and Machines ——— Want to connect? Follow Rufus on LinkedIn Subscribe to our daily newsletter, Book of the Day ✉️ Send us an email: podcast@nextbigideaclub.com ——— Ready to reach 300,000 curious listeners and readers? Promote your brand, book, or product to an audience passionate about big ideas. Request our sponsor kit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Más Menos
    1 h y 18 m
  • 'The Next Big Idea Daily': The A.I. Will See You Now (Ad-free)
    Sep 15 2025
    We’re used to hearing “the doctor will see you now,” but in the not-so-distant future, that doctor may not be human. That’s because human docs are prone to misdiagnosis, burnout, and bias — making our current healthcare system a leading cause of preventable death. In Dr. Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us―and How AI Could Save Lives, medical researcher and philosopher Charlotte Blease makes the case that artificial intelligence could be the physician we need — more consistent, less prejudiced, and infinitely more resilient than the flesh-and-blood doctors we rely on today. Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, or ⁠wherever you listen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Más Menos
    13 m
  • Best Of: Jonathan Haidt on What Social Media Is Doing to Our Kids (Ad-free)
    Sep 11 2025
    It’s rare these days for a book to go viral, but that’s exactly what happened with The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt. Now in its 75th week on the New York Times’ bestseller list, the book reveals a startling truth: Starting in 2012, teen depression rates suddenly spiked 150% worldwide, perfectly coinciding with the moment smartphones and social media conquered childhood. But Haidt doesn't just diagnose the crisis. He offers a roadmap out with norms, guidelines, and policy suggestions that parents, schools, and communities are already implementing with remarkable success. Further Listening: WILL STORR: Does Our Need for Status Explain Everything? ANNA LEMBKE: Why the Modern World Puts Us All At Risk for Addiction ——— Want to connect with us? Follow Rufus on LinkedIn Subscribe to our daily newsletter, Book of the Day ✉️ Send us an email: podcast@nextbigideaclub.com ——— Ready to reach 300,000 curious listeners and readers? Promote your brand, book, or product to an audience passionate about big ideas. Request our sponsor kit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Más Menos
    1 h y 19 m
  • 'The Next Big Idea Daily': The Dirtbag Billionaire Who Gave It All Away (Ad-free)
    Sep 8 2025
    What if the best way to win in business is to do the exact opposite of what everyone else is doing? While most CEOs chase growth at all costs, Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, chose a different path. Starting out as a rock climber and adventurer, when he pivoted to business, he built products to last, created a company culture where surfing sometimes mattered more than spreadsheets, and even risked profits to protect the planet. Then, in a move almost unheard of in corporate America, he gave the entire company away. In his new book ⁠Dirtbag Billionaire: How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made a Fortune, and Gave It All Away,⁠ New York Times journalist David Gelles tells the story of how a reluctant businessman reshaped capitalism—and shows us what it looks like to build a company that puts people and the planet first. Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, or ⁠wherever you listen⁠ Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? ⁠Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Más Menos
    14 m