Ford's Jim Farley on beating China, and the storm nobody sees coming
25 August - 28 minsWith the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and fuel prices still elevated, few auto executives are feeling the pressure more acutely than Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley. He joins Rapid Response to give a candid account of what the turmoil means for the auto industry, and for an iconic American brand navigating one of the most turbulent moments in its history. Farley gets frank about the China threat reshaping the global auto business, and his frustration with Ford's own ingenuity. Plus, why Ford is back in Formula One, and why Farley sees a storm gathering in the so-called "essential economy".
This episode originally aired on Rapid Response in April 2026.
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How Barnes & Noble made a comeback, with CEO James Daunt
CEO James Daunt has now rescued two iconic bookstore chains: Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. He joins host Jeff Berman to discuss the turnarounds, plus how bookstores are preparing for an onslaught of AI-written content, his BookTok strategy, and why local control is the key to making great bookstores. 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.
32 mins
20 August Finished
What the jobs report isn't telling you about AI & the workforce, with Upwork’s Hayden Brown
Few leaders have a better real-time read on how AI is actually reshaping the workforce than Hayden Brown. As CEO of Upwork, the platform where 18 million freelancers meet the businesses that need them, she sees what the monthly jobs report can't: which skills are surging, which jobs are quietly disappearing, and why 23% of businesses that moved work to AI are already bringing humans back. Brown joins Rapid Response to share what she's actually seeing on the ground, why she refused to blame AI when she laid off a quarter of Upwork's staff, and what the data says about the gap between AI hype and AI reality.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.
30 mins
18 August Finished
Pioneers of AI: Why AI conversations are always one-sided
Is it possible for us to ever wholeheartedly trust a machine the way we would a human? According to Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection, the answer is no. And that’s what stops us from being able to emotionally connect with AI chatbots.In this episode of Pioneers of AI, host Rana el Kaliouby and Duhigg dissect what's really happening when people confide in ChatGPT and why real connection depends on reciprocity and vulnerability, two things AI can't offer.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.
39 mins
15 August Finished
Know which rules to break, with MTV co-founder Tom Freston
Tom Freston is a cofounder of MTV and former CEO of Viacom. He joined host Jeff Berman to dig into the wild stories and meaningful lessons from his life as an unconventional corporate leader. Freston reveals how MTV’s audience-first mentality and “subway car” approach to hiring helped the network scale into a cultural icon. Tom’s memoir is Unplugged: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Unplugged/Tom-Freston/9781668089798 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
31 mins
13 August Finished
Rapid Recap: Google’s exodus, Spider-Man’s odyssey, Taco “Hell”, and more
What’s the business story of the summer thus far? SpaceX’s stumble post-IPO? AI security breaches? Ongoing tension surrounding the Strait of Hormuz? Host Bob Safian sits down with Rapid Response producer Alex Morris to weigh in. The pair also break down the impact of Uber COO Andrew Macdonald’s appearance on the podcast, and how it sparked a broader conversation throughout the business world about AI spending. Plus, leadership lessons forged in the fire of FIFA’s privatization play, Kalshi’s New York lawsuit, and the BTS boycott of The Grammy’s.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.
29 mins
11 August Finished