Masters of Scale

Big Tech is moving fast on AI. But who's watching out for the rest of us? Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, has spent years sounding the alarm about where the race to build powerful AI is actually taking us. He joins Rapid Response to expose the incentive structures quietly pushing Silicon Valley toward dangerous territory, and to make the case that it's not too late to change course. Raskin also unpacks the significance of Pope Leo XIV's sweeping new encyclical on AI, what China's AI priorities reveal about the global race, and why the hidden assumptions baked into AI systems may be the most underestimated risk of all.

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Money = Math + Feelings. That’s the equation at the heart of Carrie Joy (CJ) Grimes’ nonprofit WorkMoney, which has scaled to more than 9 million members since it started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grimes joins host Jeff Berman to reveal the strategies that can improve not just how much money we have, but our relationship with it.  

CJ’s book: The Joy of Money

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What if the way we think about business value, trust, and capitalism itself is fundamentally broken? Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup changed how a generation of entrepreneurs build companies. Now, Ries takes aim at some of the most sacred business assumptions today in his new book, Incorruptible. Ries joins Rapid Response to share what he witnessed firsthand in the clash between Anthropic and the US government, and why he believes the current system is failing the very people it's supposed to serve. He also brings in-the-trenches stories from Cloudflare, Novo Nordisk, and Whole Foods to make the case that courage, not capital, may be the most undervalued asset in business right now.

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We all feel the urgency: learn to use AI, or risk falling behind at work. And we all know there's an upside: AI can reduce tedious tasks, streamline operations, and boost output. But knowing is half the battle (maybe even less) and implementing AI needs to happen across an entire organization. So what does it take to start?

Well, here at WaitWhat (the company behind this podcast!) we paused all operations for three days to find out. From editorial curation to visual design to event planning, we split into teams for an “AI Sprint.” And this Pioneers of AI episode takes you to the starting blocks on the track with us, as we test new tools, discover their limitations, and find where AI can deliver on its promise.

Learn more about Pioneers of AI: http://pioneersof.ai/

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When Lew Frankfort joined Coach half a century ago, it was a small NYC handbag maker without a single storefront. Frankfort reveals how he scaled the brand into a global icon worth more than 20 billion dollars with a signature blend of “magic and logic”. 

Lew’s memoir is Bag Man. Find it at: https://lewfrankfort.com/

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Robotaxis are multiplying across American cities… But are consumers actually ready to trust them? Zoox CEO Aicha Evans joins Rapid Response to talk about the company’s strategy as an Amazon subsidiary, its intensifying rivalry with Waymo, and why a new partnership with Uber could be the key to getting autonomous rides from novelty to scale. Evans also reveals why she recruits what she calls an “invisible army of rebels” inside Zoox, and what Marie Curie and Nelson Mandela have to do with leading through uncertainty.

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In a new follow-up to his bestselling book Range, author David Epstein reveals his new contrarian take: The best thing for innovation is actually constraints. Epstein talks with host Jeff Berman about the fascinating research he did to prove out this idea, with examples from Silicon Valley, Pixar and more. 

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When Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn sent an internal memo about AI last year, he didn't expect it to go viral — or to ignite a firestorm about the future of work. Now he joins Rapid Response to unpack what he got right, what he got wrong, and what the backlash taught him about the real limitations of AI. Von Ahn also reveals why he's made a deliberate pivot in 2026: chasing users, not revenue — and what that bet says about how big Duolingo can get before ads become inevitable. It's a candid reckoning with hype, growth, and the surprisingly complicated promise of technology in education.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

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Todd Graves built Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers into a nearly 1,000 restaurant empire worth billions. It’s well known for both its deliciously simple menu and its refreshingly friendly staff. The founder and CEO talks with host Jeff Berman about how he perfected the recipe for success, why he thinks restaurants should be wary of private equity, and much more.

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When markets drop and chaos hits, Mellody Hobson is determined to be brave. The co-CEO of Ariel Investments and former chair of Starbucks and DreamWorks joins Rapid Response to make the case that volatility isn't something to survive but to exploit. She shares the financial lessons she lives by, including a surprising admonition against making choices based on money, and why she sees women's sports as the investment opportunity of a generation. Plus, why math has no opinion, and how that changes everything.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

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