12 Geniuses Podcast

What does it take to get to the C-suite? In the case of Erika Ayers Badan, the road to the CEO’s chair was filled with risk and had plenty of bumps along the way. Earlier in 2024, Erika was appointed CEO of Food52. She’s the former CEO of Barstool Sports, where she saw Barstool’s rocket ship ascent in the competitive sports media environment. She is also the author of the book “Nobody Cares About Your Career.” In this interview with Erika, she discusses her willingness to take risks, how she thinks about career development, the roles of mentors in assisting her success, her approach to getting over the need to be perfect, and she discusses the CEO’s role in cultivating the company culture that will help an organization succeed.

Erika Ayers Badan is the CEO of Food52 and the former CEO of Barstool Sports. During her tenure at Barstool from 2016 to 2024, Erika transformed the organization from a regional blog to a national powerhouse operation leading to a 5,000% increase in overall revenue, making it one of the most innovative and successful internet media brands. Before joining Barstool, Erika held several leadership positions in media and technology at Microsoft, AOL, Demand Media, and Yahoo. She has been extensively recognized for her innovation in the industry, including being named one of Forbes’ Most Powerful Women in Sports amongst other achievements. Erika currently serves on the boards of the Premier Lacrosse League, Axon Enterprise (AXON), and Malaria No More. She is the author of the book “Nobody Cares About Your Career: Why Failure is Good, The Great Ones Play Hurt and Other Hard Truths.”

In his new book, This Is Strategy, Seth Godin reminds readers that “the future comes one day at a time” and “today is your best chance to improve tomorrow.” Despite the speed with which the world is changing, Seth believes prioritizing long-term thinking over quick fixes is the best way to make “smart, purposeful choices that shape a better tomorrow - personally and professionally.”

In this interview, Seth shares his definition of what strategy is, what people are getting right about strategy, and the systems he sees that are shaping the world. Seth goes on to discuss how leaders need to be thinking about strategy in a fast-changing, A.I. (tech-centric) world. He finishes the discussion by talking about the mistakes we are making in 2024 that the people of 2074 will look back at in disbelief and he shares what fills him with a sense of optimism.

For more than thirty years, Seth Godin has been trying to “turn on lights, inspire people and teach them how to level up.” He is the author of more than 20 best-selling books, including his latest book This Is Strategy. He is an entrepreneur who, after selling one of his companies to Yahoo, became Yahoo’s vice president of direct marketing. Seth’s blog is one of the most popular in the world with more than 8,000 posts and a million readers. He is a member of the Marketing Hall of Fame.

Layla Zaidane describes the incredible, enduring nature of American democracy, the challenges that have been overcome during its history, what is required for democracy to last another 250 years in America, and how we should think about selecting our elected officials to ensure freedom and democracy for generations to come. Layla goes on to talk about the progress being made by younger lawmakers in bridging the partisan divide, America’s position as a leading democracy in the world, and what the responsibilities are for citizens in order for democracy to continue to thrive.

Layla Zaidane is President & CEO of Future Caucus, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the United States. Future Caucus works with over 1,800 Millennial and Gen Z elected leaders in Congress and state legislatures to bridge divides, collaborate on future-oriented policy, and scale a healthy culture of democracy. Prior to joining Future Caucus, Layla served as the Managing Director for Generation Progress and helped launch the It’s On Us campaign in partnership with the White House in 2014, and launched the Higher Ed, Not Debt campaign in 2013. She was named by Fusion as one of 30 Women Under 30 Who Will Change the Election. A nationally recognized expert on youth engagement, Layla has been featured in outlets including Forbes, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, and Refinery29.

Thank you to Starts with Us for their collaboration on this series. Starts with Us is an organization committed to overcoming extreme political and cultural division. Check them out at startswith.us.

With extreme weather and deadly disasters dominating headlines, the issue of climate change is a vital issue in the 2024 election. The majority of Americans believe there is human-caused climate change affecting our lives and fear for future impacts. The issue raises a range of perspectives on how to tackle the problem among the candidates running for higher office. If the majority of us are united on this issue, how do we have better discourse to find productive solutions? In this interview, Benji Backer shares his experience building consensus among conservatives and liberals to make progress on climate change.

In this conversation, Benji highlights some of the bipartisan climate legislation that has passed in the United States in recent history. He talks about how the American Conservation Coalition and other partners have led the way to help lawmakers prioritize the environment and climate issues. Benji goes on to discuss where climate change ranks in importance for voters, where people can get useful information about climate politics, and he even talks about how artificial intelligence anxiety is supplanting climate change as a political issue. 

Benji Backer is President and Founder of the American Conservation Coalition, the largest right-of-center environmental organization in the country. He has been awarded the Fortune 40 Under 40, Forbes 30 Under 30, GreenBiz 30 Under 30, and Grist 50 for his work with the ACC. He serves as a Board member for the Wisconsin Conservative Energy Forum and Mainstream Republicans of Washington. A frequent contributor to multiple national media outlets, Benji is one of the leading youth environmental voices in the country. 

Most Americans do not trust traditional media. Some do not believe in our elections. The growing spread of mistrust in our country's institutions impacts civic engagement and our democracy. As a former journalist and political strategist, Tara McGowan provides insights into this crisis and what we can do to counter America’s lack of faith in the pillars that make our democracy tick.

In this conversation, Tara discusses the extent of the disinformation problem in the United States and where it is concentrated, what individuals and organizations are creating it, why people are drawn to outrageous news stories, and the health of societies that suffer from rampant disinformation. She goes on to talk about the incredible progress the United States has made in advancing human rights, where people can go to find trustworthy news sources, and she finishes with what fills her with a sense of optimism.

Tara McGowan is the founder and publisher of COURIER, a fast-growing left-leaning news network with local newsrooms in eleven states. COURIER is building a more informed, engaged, and representative democracy by reaching tens of millions of Americans where they are online with factual, values-driven news that inspires civic participation. A former journalist and political strategist, Tara has seen firsthand how America’s growing information chasm has contributed to increased polarization and the rising threat of authoritarianism. Earlier in her career, Tara led some of the largest digital advertising and marketing programs supporting progressive causes and candidates in U.S. politics, including at ACRONYM, Priorities USA, NextGen Climate, and as a digital strategist on President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. 

Thank you to Starts with Us for their collaboration on this series. Starts with Us is an organization committed to overcoming extreme political and cultural division. Check them out at startswith.us. 

Even with President Biden not seeking reelection, age in American politics is still a highly debated issue. Americans overall want younger candidates in office. While the U.S. House of Representatives median age is slightly under 60 years old, it’s the mid-60s for the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, the average age in America is under 40.

About two-thirds of U.S. adults back an age ceiling on candidates for president and Congress and a mandatory retirement age for judges. As we head into an election cycle across all levels of government, how do we vet and position younger candidates who don’t possess a track record to match more seasoned opponents? How can younger candidates take on entrenched incumbents and win?

In this interview, Steven Olikara provides insights from his own Senate candidacy experience and as a founder of the largest nonpartisan organization of young elected leaders in America. Steven discusses why getting younger representation in government strengthens democracy, the wisdom and experience that older politicians provide, his ideas on term limits, and how voters should be thinking about the future. 

Steven Olikara is a nationally recognized changemaker, entrepreneur, and speaker at the intersection of media, politics, and culture. He serves as the founding President of Bridge Entertainment Labs (BEL) and as Senior Fellow for Political Transformation at the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Steven founded Future Caucus (formerly Millennial Action Project), the largest cross-partisan organization of young elected leaders in the U.S. In 2022, he made history as the first South Asian candidate for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, garnering national attention for his debate performance and fresh approach to politics. Steven is an on-air political commentator for both national and Wisconsin media. His analysis has been featured on CNN, NBC News, Fox News, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, Variety, and more.

Thank you to Starts with Us for their collaboration on this series. Starts with Us is an organization committed to overcoming extreme political and cultural division. Check them out at startswith.us.

Election season often highlights a range of hot-button topics, from abortion to immigration, which becomes trickier to navigate when conversations pop up with friends or at the dinner table. While we’re often told to be curious about other perspectives, many of us do not know where to start. Worse, we don’t know how to stay curious about issues that elicit our strong opinions. In this interview, curiosity expert Scott Shigeoka shares his research and in-the-field experience using curiosity to navigate polarizing issues. Scott talks about the personal benefits experienced when people are curious. He goes on to talk about how people can become more curious and why maintaining boundaries and earning the right to be curious are important. He finishes the discussion by sharing what he learned on a year-long, 4,500 mile “curiosity journey” across the United States that gave him the opportunity to meet, talk with, and connect with people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Scott Shigeoka is a globally recognized curiosity expert, speaker, and the award-winning author of SEEK: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World. He popularizes research that promotes positive well-being and relationships, including at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and through his groundbreaking courses at the University of Texas at Austin. He has spoken at universities, schools, companies, and conferences around the world. He is also a screenwriter and playwright.

AI-generated content has exploded into people’s feeds, and with that comes greater concern over deep fakes and misinformation. As we scroll through election content this season, how can we ensure we know when something is real or fake? In this interview, IBM's Jesús Mantas addresses how his work proactively stops “fake news” and what we, as ordinary citizens, can do to spot and combat misinformation, especially AI-generated.

Jesús Mantas is the Global Managing Partner in IBM Consulting responsible for Business Transformation Services, leading the $10B unit transforming and operating mission critical businesses with digital technology and AI. He also serves as an Independent Director and Chair of the Compensation and Management Development Committee in the Board of Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB), a leading biotechnology company focused on neuroscience. He serves as a member of the Audit Committee as well. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum AI Global Council. Prior to joining IBM, Jesús was a Partner in the High Technology practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, an adjunct professor at University of California Irvine Graduate School of Management, and an officer in the Air Force of Spain.

Jesús Mantas is the Global Managing Partner in IBM Consulting responsible for Business Transformation Services, leading the $10B unit transforming and operating mission critical businesses with digital technology and AI. He also serves as an Independent Director and Chair of the Compensation and Management Development Committee in the Board of Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB), a leading biotechnology company focused on neuroscience. He serves as a member of the Audit Committee as well. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum AI Global Council. Prior to joining IBM, Jesús was a Partner in the High Technology practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, an adjunct professor at University of California Irvine Graduate School of Management, and an officer in the Air Force of Spain.

Colleges have become a hotbed of division as students from all walks of life cross paths with each other, and academic agendas shape discourse and student life on campuses. As Gen Z casts some of their first ballots in 2024, how can they learn to have more respectful dialogue about the issues that matter most to them? In this interview, Dr. Pano Kanelos provides his perspective and ideas on how to encourage open dialogue on college campuses and educational settings.

Dr. Panayiotis (Pano) Kanelos is the Founding President of the University of Austin (UATX). Lauded by Forbes as one of higher education’s “academic entrepreneurs,” Dr. Kanelos was President of St. John’s College, Annapolis, the nation’s most storied great books liberal arts college. During his tenure, St. John’s successfully launched a historic initiative that included the most significant tuition reduction at any American college, accompanied by a $300 million campaign. He is widely acclaimed as one of the country’s most powerful advocates for liberal education and believes polarization on university campuses today reflects a “hardening” of empathy within American culture. He and the other co-founders started the school in response to their belief that college campuses were no longer a place where students and faculty could openly exchange ideas. 

Thank you to Starts with Us for their collaboration on this series. Starts with Us is an organization committed to overcoming extreme political and cultural division. Check them out at startswith.us.

The blurred lines between journalism, advertising, and entertainment have contributed to a lack of media literacy in today’s audiences. So, how do we discern when we have all the facts, particularly as we gear up toward an election? In this interview, Dr. Geoffrey Baym explains the history of political content in media and how we can practice better media literacy in the lead-up to the 2024 election.

Dr. Geoffrey Baym is a professor of media studies and directs the PhD program in Media and Communication at Temple University. A former TV news producer, Dr. Baym explores the shifting styles and standards of broadcast journalism, public affairs media, and political discourse. His work particularly examines the melding of news, entertainment, politics, and popular culture. His publications include the award-winning From Cronkite to Colbert: The Evolution of Broadcast News and the edited collection News Parody and Political Satire Across the Globe.

Thank you to Starts with Us for their collaboration on this series. Starts with Us is an organization committed to overcoming extreme political and cultural division. Check them out at startswith.us.