"If you keep moving forward, things will get better." Nick Thompson is the CEO of the Atlantic and the former editor in chief of Wired; he's also an American record-holding distance runner.

In his new memoir, The Running Ground, Nick philosophizes on what running can teach us about life, work, resilience, confidence, commitment, focus, and good habits. "The effort is what you remember," he tells us. Also: "Discipline is cumulative." What does "talent" actually mean? How important is goal-setting? Nick talks to host Charles Yao about why showing up every day is the most important thing you can do. They also delve into how Nick's fascinating family history and hectic work schedule impact his running and vice versa. Success is not a mountain, he reminds us. It's a series of rolling peaks.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to overcome mental barriers in running and life
• Why your brain limits your performance (and how to trick it)
• The science of pain during exercise and endurance sports
• What makes someone talented at running (and why it's not what you think)
• How to balance career ambitions with athletic training

In conversation with The Lavin Agency's Director of Intellectual Talent, Charles Yao, Nick answers these questions and more:

• Can you get faster at running in your 40s?
• What are the best marathon training tips for busy professionals?
• What is ultra marathon training like?
• Can you improve running performance with age?
• How can you stay motivated during long training cycles?

Learn more about Nick or book him as a keynote speaker: https://thelavinagency.com/speakers/nick-thompson/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=nick+thompson+lavin+voices

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: ‪@TheLavinAgency‬

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Credits:

Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney

Host: Charles Yao

Guest: Nick Thompson

When was the last time you played? Not just playing a video game or a sport, where the goal is to win, but just playing for play's sake?

This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Cas Holman. Cas is a world-renowned toy designer who's been featured on Netflix's award-winning series Abstract: The Art of Design. She's also the author of Playful (out today!), which reveals how play can boost creativity and collaboration, help us connect and recharge, and show us how to find fulfilment at work. Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love) calls it "a radiant and essential book for our anxious age."

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What free play is and why it's fundamentally different from structured activities or games
• The scientific reasons play directly impacts problem-solving abilities and creativity
• Why play is so necessary for innovation (and why a focus on efficiency and productivity might be killing it)
• How to integrate play into everyday adult life without making it feel forced

In conversation with The Lavin Agency's Director of Intellectual Talent, Charles Yao, Cas answers these questions and more:

• What is free play vs. structured play?
• How does play affect brain development in adults?
• How does play relate to productivity?
• How to make more innovative corporate cultures?
• How to make meetings more productive?
• How can we live together better?
• Why is play important for children?
• How to reconnect children with unstructured play?

Learn more about Cas or book her as a keynote speaker: https://thelavinagency.com/speakers/cas-holman/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=cas+holman+lavin+voices

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: ‪@TheLavinAgency‬

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Credits:

Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney

Host: Charles Yao

Guest: Cas Holman

Many of us lead with our differences, emphasizing what sets us apart. But our shared humanity is what actually brings us together.

This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Molly Burke. Molly is a trailblazing blind advocate, author, and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, who has built a community of over 5 million people across social media through her personal, funny, and refreshingly real videos that bridge the gap between the blind and sighted communities. Her new book, Unseen (out today!), is a powerful memoir about identity, resilience, and what it truly means to be seen in a world that often overlooks difference.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What Molly's personal journey taught her about disability and connection
• Why we crave authenticity (even when we assume we don't)
• How to cultivate vulnerability as a superpower, especially in high-pressure and competitive environments
• How to make people care about your cause (and why that starts with being seen as human)

In conversation with The Lavin Agency's Director of Intellectual Talent, Charles Yao, Molly answers these questions and more:

• What is ableism?
• What is vulnerability?
• How to build resilience?
• What is disability representation in media?
• How to make people care?
• What are blind people's experiences?
• How to combat stereotypes?
• How to practice empathy?
• What are visual hallucinations?
• How to connect with others?

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Learn more about Molly or book her as a keynote speaker: https://thelavinagency.com/speakers/molly-burke/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=molly+burke+lavin+voices

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Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: ‪@TheLavinAgency‬

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Credits:

Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney

Host: Charles Yao

Guest: Molly Burke

Every day, you play a game you don't even know you're playing. Daycare slots, good jobs, medical care, concert tickets: all these are allocated through a powerful phenomenon called "hidden markets." And by understanding their rules, you can make them work for you.

This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Judd Kessler. Judd is a Wharton professor who has spent two decades researching how hidden markets work and how to use them to your advantage. He's also the author of Lucky by Design, in which he offers a wealth of examples of everyday hidden markets, and offers a framework for identifying and succeeding in them. Annie Duke (Thinking in Bets) says that "Kessler reveals the hidden rules of the game, and arms you with the strategies you need to win them."

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What hidden markets are—and how you're already competing in dozens of them without realizing it
• The "go for gold vs. settle for silver" strategy that can help you win restaurant reservations, concert tickets, and daycare spots
• Why Taylor Swift left billions on the table—and what it reveals about the psychology of pricing and demand
• How to design markets that are fair to everyone, and how to win in markets where the rules aren't clear

In conversation with The Lavin Agency's Director of Intellectual Talent, Charles Yao, Judd answers these questions and more:

• What are hidden markets and how do they work?
• How do I get a reservation at a popular restaurant?
• Why are concert tickets so hard to get?
• How do daycare waitlists work?
• What strategies help you win lotteries and raffles?
• How are promotions really decided at work?
• How should I manage my calendar to protect my time

Learn more about Judd or book him as a keynote speaker: https://thelavinagency.com/speakers/judd-kessler/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Lavin+Voices+Judd+Kessler

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas:  @TheLavinAgency 

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Credits:

Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney

Host: Charles Yao

Guest: Judd Kessler

Bruce Lee rose to prominence at the same time as Asian America. And in doing so, he changed all of our lives.

This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Jeff Chang. Named "a preeminent chronicler of Asian American history" (Publishers Weekly), Jeff is a celebrated social historian whose powerful work on culture and history helps us better understand our country and ourselves.

In his new book, Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America, Jeff turns his eye to the story of this martial arts icon and how he shaped the America that we know today. He shows us why Bruce still matters today, and how his story continues to influence us now and into the future.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Bruce Lee became a symbol of the underdog
• How Bruce challenged Hollywood stereotypes and paved the way for Asian American representation in media
• How Bruce's struggle for recognition mirrors the rise of broader social movements even beyond America

In conversation with The Lavin Agency's Director of Intellectual Talent, Charles Yao, Jeff answers these questions and more:

• Who was Bruce Lee?
• Why does Bruce Lee's life story matter today?
• What was Bruce Lee's philosophy on martial arts and self-improvement?
• Why did Bruce Lee leave Hollywood?
• How did Bruce Lee change the representation of Asians in Hollywood?

Learn more about Jeff or book him as a keynote speaker: https://thelavinagency.com/speakers/jeff-chang/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Lavin+Voices+Jeff+Chang

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: @TheLavinAgency

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Credits:

Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney

Host: Charles Yao

Guest: Jeff Chang

We only get 4000 weeks on this earth. Why are so many of us wasting them? This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Rutger Bregman. Named “one of Europe’s most prominent young thinkers” by TED, Rutger is a New York Times bestselling author whose books (Moral Ambition, Humankind, and Utopia for Realists) have sold over 2 million copies and been translated into 46 languages. He has shared the stage with Yuval Noah Harari, been interviewed by Jon Stewart, gone viral at the World Economic Forum conference at Davos, and given a TED Talk which TED curator Chris Anderson named one of the 10 best of the year. Rutger is a warm, passionate keynote speaker who argues that we need more than good intentions to change the world. We need "moral ambition": the idealism of an activist and the ambition of an entrepreneur. And he can show us how to muster both in order to make real change. In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why making the world "a little bit better" is the wrong goal—and what to aim for instead
• How small groups of committed people can spark outsized movements
• The counterintuitive truth about doing good (hint: it's not about being a good person)

In conversation with The Lavin Agency's founder and CEO, David Lavin, Rutger answers these questions and more:

• How can ordinary people change the world?
• Why do good people do nothing about injustice?
• Is universal basic income a good idea?
• What can you do if you hate your job?
• How can you find meaningful work?

Learn more about Rutger or book him as a keynote speaker: https://thelavinagency.com/speakers/rutger-bregman/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm…

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: @TheLavinAgency

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Credits:

Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney

Host: David Lavin

Guest: Rutger Bregman

The AI revolution will have consequences for our democracy. But there's still time to take the power into our own hands.

This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI and one of the 2025 TIME100 AI. As the first journalist to ever profile OpenAI, Karen is a long-time Silicon Valley insider who has spent years investigating the most consequential tech arms race in history. A passionate, hopeful speaker, Karen shows us how thoroughly AI will alter society, and what role we can all play in shaping AI so that it benefits everyone. “The way we develop technology is now fundamentally broken,” she says. “But I truly believe that we can fix it.”

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In this episode, you'll learn:

• How a handful of tech companies are consolidating unprecedented power—and what this means for us
• Why AI FOMO is driving adoption of technology that doesn't actually improve productivity
• How citizens can stand up for democracy and build an AI future that benefits us all

The robots are coming… and they can’t get here soon enough.

This week on Lavin Voices, we talk to Lavin Exclusive Speaker Hans Peter Brondmo. As the founder of Everyday Robots at Google, Hans Peter has spent decades helping to make AI-powered robots that will tackle our biggest societal problems and free us up to find more purpose, serve our communities, and, ultimately, be more human. A thoughtful, clear-eyed leader and speaker, Hans Peter shows us how we can all flourish in a future where AI helps us rethink purpose and fulfillment. “We want to take all the robotic stuff and give it to the robots—and allow for us humans to be more human,” he says.

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In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why the biggest AI opportunities might not be what we think
• What today’s leaders get wrong about AI adoption, and how to get it right
• Why AI SHOULD take our jobs—and how that will help us live better, more fulfilling lives

Learn more about Hans Peter or book him as a keynote speaker: https://thelavinagency.com/speakers/hans-peter-brondmo/

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Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for more big ideas: @TheLavinAgency

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Credits:

Producers: Alethea Ng and Kshiteej Sawhney

Host: Charles Yao

Guest: Hans Peter Brondmo