Mo News - The Interview

What does BlackRock actually do? How much influence does it have? And how much of what you’ve heard about it is true?

Mosheh sits down with John Kelly, BlackRock’s global head of corporate affairs, to demystify the world’s largest asset manager, which oversees roughly $15 trillion on behalf of its clients. Many listeners may have money invested with the company through a 401(k), pension, or other investments without realizing it.

The conversation explores BlackRock’s power, questions about its role in housing, public distrust of Wall Street, and the growing backlash against AI data centers.

They also discuss BlackRock’s Future Builders initiative, which aims to help 50,000 Americans prepare for careers in the skilled trades. Why is this financial giant investing in electricians, plumbers, and other skilled workers—and could those careers offer more opportunity as AI reshapes the job market?

Kelly, who previously held senior roles at Microsoft, Starbucks, and Roku, shares the company’s perspective on what these changes could mean for your work, savings, and retirement.

Mosheh Oinounou (⁠@mosheh⁠) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. He has 20 years of experience at networks including Fox News, Bloomberg Television and CBS News, where he was the executive producer of the CBS Evening News and launched the network's 24 hour news channel. He founded the @mosheh Instagram news account in 2020 and the Mo News podcast and newsletter in 2022.

As warnings mount that artificial intelligence could take millions of jobs, and even threaten humanity itself, Reid Hoffman argues we need a middle path: keep developing the technology while putting safeguards in place.

The billionaire LinkedIn co-founder, early OpenAI backer and former board member, and major Democratic donor joins Mosheh for a conversation about technology, money, and political power—and the future he’s helping finance.

Hoffman explains why he thinks extinction fears are overblown, how America should compete with China, and what lawmakers should require companies to do -- including kill switches and independent safety audits. They also discuss where AI leaders have failed the public, how workers can prepare, and his company Manas AI’s efforts to develop new medicines, including cancer treatments.

On politics, Hoffman weighs in on the midterms, why Democrats lost support in Silicon Valley, and his disagreements with democratic socialists. Mosheh challenges him on billionaires’ influence over elections, and asks what a 2028 presidential candidate would need to earn his support.

Mosheh Oinounou (⁠@mosheh⁠) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. He has 20 years of experience at networks including Fox News, Bloomberg Television and CBS News, where he was the executive producer of the CBS Evening News and launched the network's 24 hour news channel. He founded the @mosheh Instagram news account in 2020 and the Mo News podcast and newsletter in 2022.

Baby-led weaning, sugar limits, picky eating: parents face a flood of advice about feeding their kids. How much of it holds up?Mosh talks with Jennifer Anderson, registered dietitian, founder of @KidsEatinColor and author of the new book Feed Them Well: A Guide to Raising Healthy, Confident Eaters for Life.

We discuss what the research says about purées and finger foods, why picky eating isn’t necessarily a parenting failure, how to handle dessert and practical ways to feed kids well on a budget.

How worried should we be about AI, and who should be making the decisions about its future? Mosh sits down with Jim VandeHei, co-founder of Politico and Axios and current CEO of Axios, for a wide-ranging conversation about the technology reshaping our lives.

Jim explains why he takes warnings from AI researchers seriously, what’s at stake in the race with China, and what AI could mean for jobs, journalism and American politics.

They also get into Jim’s new book, ⁠Simplify: How to Do Less and Get More Done⁠. Jim shares how he’s applied that idea at Axios and in his own life: identifying the work that matters most, cutting obligations that consume time without adding much, and using AI to make life simpler instead of busier. It’s a conversation about the future, and how to spend your time well right now.

Mosheh Oinounou (⁠@mosheh⁠) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. He has 20 years of experience at networks including Fox News, Bloomberg Television and CBS News, where he was the executive producer of the CBS Evening News and launched the network's 24 hour news channel. He founded the @mosheh Instagram news account in 2020 and the Mo News podcast and newsletter in 2022.

2,753 people died at the World Trade Center site on September 11th, 2001, including members of the FDNY and NYPD, and hundreds who were working in the towers or visiting that day, plus the crew and passengers of the two hijacked planes that struck the buildings.

We wanted to remember the real people behind those numbers. And for that, Jill spoke to Erin Jackman, whose sister Brooke Jackman had just turned 23 when she was killed on September 11th. She was working on the 104th floor of the North Tower at Cantor Fitzgerald, a job she had only started two months earlier.

Erin recalls the frantic search for Brooke in the hours and weeks after the attacks, including her family’s visits to hospitals and putting up missing-person posters near Ground Zero. She also shares who Brooke was beyond the attack: a devoted sister and friend, an avid reader, and an aspiring social worker whose memory inspired her family to create the Brooke Jackman Foundation, a children’s literacy nonprofit providing books, school supplies, and family literacy programs.

For more information: ⁠Brooke Jackman Foundation⁠.

As part of Mo News’ special coverage marking 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Jill Wagner sits down with John Feal, a former Ground Zero demolition supervisor who was injured during the cleanup efforts. In the decades since, he founded the FealGood Foundation and became a leading advocate for first responders, survivors, volunteers and others who were injured or sickened by exposure to toxic dust at Ground Zero.

In his new book, I Will Follow You Anywhere, Feal recounts the years-long fight to pass legislation like the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act: how his team organized their relentless lobbying efforts in Congress, built relationships across party lines, and refused to let perfect become the enemy of the good. He also talks about his close relationship with comedian Jon Stewart, and the lessons he learned from lawmakers like Nancy Pelosi about navigating Washington.

Feal also reflects on the responders and survivors who have died or continue to live with 9/11-related illnesses, the ongoing fight to expand healthcare coverage, and what he hopes a younger generation will remember about the attacks on September 11th and the days that followed.

Jill Wagner (⁠@jillrwagner⁠) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. She's the Managing Editor of Mo News. Jill previously worked as a correspondent for CBS News, Cheddar News, and News 12. She also co-founded the Need2Know newsletter, and has made it a goal to drop a Seinfeld reference into every Mo News podcast.

What happened inside Air Force One as America came under attack—and inside the Situation Room a decade later as the U.S. closed in on Osama bin Laden?

As we mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell gives us hisfirsthand account of both defining moments and everything in between. Morell was President George W. Bush’s intelligence briefer on September 11th and later helped President Obama assess whether bin Laden was really hiding in Pakistan before the raid that killed him.

Morell recounts what Bush was asking as Air Force One moved between secure locations, how he identified al-Qaeda as the likely perpetrator and why bin Laden was able to escape from Afghanistan. He also takes us inside the deliberations over the Abbottabad raid—including the warning he gave Obama about how uncertain the intelligence remained.The conversation examines the failures that preceded 9/11 and what the Clinton and Bush administrations could have done differently. Morell also addresses conspiracy theories about that day, why bin Laden would view himself as partly successful given the state of the world 25 years later, how 9/11 should be taught to a new generation, and the biggest threat facing the country today.

The Lindsay Clancy trial has sparked a national conversation about postpartum psychosis and maternal mental health. In this episode, Mo News Producer Sari Soffer sits down with Dr. Noa Sterling, an OB-GYN and mental health expert, for a broader conversation about the Clancy trial, postpartum mental illness, and why many women fall through the cracks in the existing medical system.

The conversation covers the differences between intrusive thoughts, postpartum depression, anxiety, and psychosis; risk factors like sleep deprivation and bipolar disorder; and the challenges of diagnosing and treating serious postpartum mental health conditions. They examine the systemic barriers for new mothers including a fragmented health system, lack of sustained support, and the burden to coordinate their own care during a time of intense struggle. They also discuss what better postpartum care could look like.

Dr. Noa Sterling is also the creator of a paid app called Obi, which helps women through pregnancy and postpartum. She has made the following resources available free for the Mo News audience:

- Mental Health Support Guide: Everything You Need to Know: https://www.obipregnancyapp.com/your-mental-health-support-guide-start-here/

- A Letter to the Partner of Someone Struggling With Their Mental Health Postpartum: https://www.obipregnancyapp.com/to-the-partner-of-someone-struggling-with-postpartum-mental-health/

If anything in this conversation resonated with you or someone you love, Postpartum Support International's HelpLine is ⁠1-800-944-4773⁠, call or text, and 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Many of us have felt stuck professionally, like we’ve lost our spark, or are too old to follow our dreams. Entrepreneur David Thurston's new memoir, The Spiral Staircase: Why I Stepped Off a Rocket Ship to Build a Cathedral, is filled with insight and advice to help you get back on track.

Jill sat down with Thurston, where he provided lessons from his own career journey. Thurston built a hair color brand called Pulp Riot from scratch, scaled it globally, and sold it to L’Oréal for nearly $100 million, all in under two years. But then, at the peak of success, he walked away, took a year off, and asked himself: What kind of company, and what kind of life, do I really want to build?

Four years later, David and Alexis bootstrapped a new hair color brand, Danger Jones, which is taking on the industry’s largest color houses by focusing on the professional artist community rather than traditional corporate marketing.

The conservation is an honest look at what it takes to create something new, take on the biggest players in the industry, and create “work-life fusion” – not necessarily “work-life balance.” And why all the money in the world doesn't buy happiness. 

Jill Wagner (⁠⁠⁠@jillrwagner⁠⁠⁠) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. She's the Managing Editor of Mo News. Jill previously worked as a correspondent for CBS News, Cheddar News, and News 12. She also co-founded the Need2Know newsletter, and has made it a goal to drop a Seinfeld reference into every Mo News podcast.

Americans consistently say they want less division in Washington. But our political system often rewards confrontation over cooperation.

In this episode, Mosheh sits down with Brad Porteus, founder of ⁠Bridge Grades⁠, a new effort to change those incentives. Instead of rating politicians based just on ideology, Bridge Grades scores every member of Congress on how well they collaborate across party lines—looking at bipartisan legislation, public rhetoric, and relationships with colleagues from the other side.

They discuss why so many lawmakers believe working together can actually hurt their political careers, whether voters can help change those incentives, and why collaboration doesn't have to mean compromising your principles. They also explore surprising findings from the data—including conservatives and progressives who earn top marks—and whether a new way of evaluating elected officials could lead to a healthier Congress over time.

Mosheh Oinounou (⁠⁠⁠@mosheh⁠⁠⁠) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. He has 20 years of experience at networks including Fox News, Bloomberg Television and CBS News, where he was the executive producer of the CBS Evening News and launched the network's 24 hour news channel. He founded the @mosheh Instagram news account in 2020 and the Mo News podcast and newsletter in 2022.