Former Secretary of Energy - Why Clean Energy Alone Won’t Keep the Lights On
The wind stops blowing. The sun goes down.
What happens next?
Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz explains why the transition to clean energy may be far more complicated than most people realize.
In one of the most clear-eyed conversations about our energy future, Moniz pulls back the curtain on what it will actually take to build energy that is clean, reliable, and affordable - and why some of the hardest challenges have little to do with solar panels or wind turbines.
He reveals which emerging technologies - from hydrogen to nuclear fusion - could reshape the future of energy, why storage remains a major hurdle, and what many people misunderstand about renewable power.
What will it really take to keep the lights on in a low-carbon world?
The Religious Cult Behind North Korea’s Power
We think of North Korea as a communist dictatorship. But Jonathan Cheng, the Wall Street Journal’s China Bureau Chief and former Korea Bureau Chief, says that misses the real story.
He argues North Korea functions more like a religion - complete with rituals, worship, and a ruling family treated like immortals. Once you hear it, you can’t unsee it.
Why America May Not Be Ready for the Wars of the Future
When people think about war, they picture missiles and mushroom clouds.
But what if the greatest threats today are the ones most people never see coming?
Christine Wormuth, former U.S. Secretary of the Army and current leader of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, explains why some of today’s biggest dangers are quieter, harder to detect, and easier to unleash than most people realize.
The Global Power Shift No One Is Talking About – And Who’s Driving It
Most people see the world as the U.S. vs. China. But the real power shift is happening elsewhere.
Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security and a former senior advisor at the National Security Council and the U.S. State Department, shows which countries are quietly shaping the next world order - and why the biggest power shifts are happening far from the spotlight.
AI, Inflation, and the Dollar: The Hidden Forces Shaping the Economy Right Now
Inflation, interest rates, AI, tariffs, the dollar…
Most people treat them as separate stories but actually, they’re not.
Former Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jason Furman explains how these forces are all connected - and why most people are missing the bigger picture.
What’s really driving inflation, why the dollar’s power may be slipping, and why the biggest risk isn’t what most people are watching.
A conversation about the hidden forces shaping the economy - and what comes next.
Did Apple Accidentally Help Build China’s Manufacturing Empire?
“We trained a whole country.”
It sounds like an exaggeration.
It’s not - according to Patrick McGee, author of Apple in China.
So what actually happened in China?
The Hidden Iran Risk No One Is Talking About
Iran briefly showed it could choke off a waterway carrying nearly a fifth of the world’s oil.
That’s the visible threat.
The real risk may be something else entirely.
Former Deputy National Security Advisor and U.S. Special Representative to Iran Elliott Abrams breaks down where Iran's strategy backfired, whether those in power in Tehran can hold on, and why the most dangerous consequence could outlast the war itself.
After the War: 3 Surprising Truths About the Middle East - with Ambassador Dan Kurtzer (#295)
Is the war with Iran actually a turning point for the Middle East?
Dan Kurtzer - former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt, advisor to presidents, peace negotiator and professor at Princeton - has seen these moments up close, when expectations surge - and the outcome looks nothing like the promise.
His unfiltered take on Iran - and what actually changes after a war like this.
Former Tesla President on the 5 step Algorithm Behind Tesla, SpaceX, and Radical Innovation
Love him or hate him, Elon Musk has upended entire industries - from cars to rockets - by doing things differently.
Jon McNeill, former president of Tesla, reveals the thinking behind Tesla and SpaceX that drives radical innovation - and shows how anyone can apply it.
He also offers a rare glimpse into what Elon Musk is like and how he operates close up.
The Quiet War: How Countries Fight Without Firing a Shot
A few paragraphs from Washington once stopped oil tankers in their tracks halfway around the world - no navy, no missiles.
Eddie Fishman, who helped design and implement U.S. sanctions and economic warfare policies, explains how these quiet battles shape global power.
If countries can inflict real damage without firing a shot, what does power look like in this new kind of war - and how vulnerable are we?
The Winner’s Curse: Why “Winning” Often Means You Just Lost with Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler
We all love the thrill of winning - the house, the promotion, the deal. But as Nobel laureate Richard Thaler explains, some of our biggest “wins” are actually the moments we set ourselves up to lose. Thaler breaks down why we overbid, overpay, and talk ourselves into choices we regret. And he shares simple tricks to help you catch yourself before you make a mistake you can’t undo.
A Smarter, More Hopeful Future of Work - If We Get AI Right
Elon Musk and Geoffrey Hinton warn of an AI-driven job apocalypse.
MIT’s David Autor, one of the world’s leading thinkers on how technology reshapes work, says the real danger lies somewhere else.
The biggest risk of AI isn’t mass unemployment - it’s whether human skills and expertise will still matter.
David explains how AI could expand middle-class opportunity by lowering barriers to high-value work, why past technologies created more new jobs than they destroyed, and what we need to get right to make this moment a hopeful one.
Highlights of 2025
Some insights change how you see the world.
From the White House to the frontiers of AI drug discovery, we’ve gathered the most powerful moments from a year of extraordinary conversations.
This 2025 highlights episode brings you the thinkers and leaders who challenged assumptions, revealed hidden patterns, and reframed the biggest questions of our time.
What US Ambassador to China Nick Burns Saw That Terrified Him
Nicholas Burns spent 2021 to 2025 in Beijing as US Ambassador to China, witnessing up close the forces shaping the world's most dangerous rivalry.
Sitting across from Xi Jinping and living in China, he saw firsthand how dangerously close the world is to a crisis. Some of it genuinely terrified him.
Our conventional wisdom about China? Outdated. And dangerously wrong.
In this episode, he reveals the alarming "nightmare scenario" almost no one is talking about, why a single unanswered phone call could spark disaster, and what we're getting wrong about China and what China is getting wrong about us.
All from someone who lived it.
Your Brain, For Sale: The Hidden Ways AI Can Manipulate You with Cass Sunstein
AI doesn’t just predict our behavior — it can shape it.
Cass Sunstein, Harvard professor and co-author of Nudge, reveals how artificial intelligence uses classic tools of manipulation — from scarcity and social proof to fear and pleasure — to steer what we buy, believe, and even feel.
Its influence is so seamless, we may not even notice it.
The battle for the future isn’t for our data — it’s for our minds.
In a world this personalized, how do we keep control of our own minds?.
What Putin Really Wants — with Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul
When Vladimir Putin first rose to power, few expected him to become the world’s most confrontational autocrat. Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, who has studied and worked with Putin for decades, explains what changed — and why.
From paranoia about democracy to the drive to rebuild Russia’s sphere of influence, McFaul shows how personal power and national destiny became one and the same. His insights reveal not just who Putin is, but what he wants next.
Our Dollar, Your Problem: How U.S. Power Shapes — and Shakes — the World
The dollar has been one of America’s most powerful weapons and a major source of global influence, in ways few fully realize. It doesn’t just shape trade and finance; it also gives the U.S. a unique window into the world’s financial flows.
But what if that power is beginning to slip? Harvard’s Ken Rogoff examines the mounting pressures that could threaten the dollar’s supremacy — and reveals how a cornerstone of U.S. power could also become its Achilles’ heel.
AI Will Transform the World—But Who Decides How?
Artificial intelligence isn’t just another invention — it may be humanity’s first non-biological species. Craig Mundie, former Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer and co-author of Genesis with Henry Kissinger and Eric Schmidt, explores what happens as AI begins to make decisions once made by humans.
Who decides what AI should do? Who makes it obey? And what if it doesn’t?
The stakes? Nothing less than the future of human civilization.
Why 199 of 200 Projects Fail: The Iron Law That Dooms Even the Smartest Ideas
What do kitchen renovations, Olympic Games, and nuclear power plants have in common? Most of them fail — spectacularly. World-renowned expert Bent Flyvbjerg explains why 199 out of 200 big projects go over budget, over time, and under expectations — and what the rare successful ones do differently. From Pixar films to the Empire State Building, learn the principles that separate disasters from triumphs.
David Brooks: Why America’s Decline Story Is 75% Bonkers
Populists on the right and left say globalization gutted America’s middle class. David Brooks says that story is “75% bonkers.” In this episode, he reveals what’s myth, what’s true, and the deeper crisis shaping our politics today.