Molecular Beings

Costco's Chairman and Blackstone's former Executive Vice Chairman and President, TONY JAMES, reveals the kidney stone he fought through during Blackstone's IPO, why the $1.50 hot dog will never go up, and how he spots talent before people see it in themselves.

Tony James helped build Blackstone into a global giant, led Costco's Series A in 1983, has served on Costco's board since 1988, and has chaired it since 2017. But the thread running through his career isn't money. It's an eye for value other people overlook: in a warehouse idea, in young bankers, and in everyday Americans whose futures he wants to strengthen.

He sat down with Sophie to discuss:

■ The Blackstone IPO thriller

■ What he looks for to tell whether someone will be great or merely good

■ How to build an organization that produces top talent

■ Why he bought his former team back, years after they left

■ Where AI is creating real value in private equity and medicine

■ Whether AI will replace doctors

■ What's in the Costco chairman's cart, and his hot dog order

■ How Costco pays workers well and still wins

■ His work to make healthcare and education more affordable, and retirement more secure

■ How he stays right when nobody will tell him he's wrong

00:00:00 Episode Trailer

00:00:24 Meet Tony James

00:01:04 Why He Encouraged Sophie to Build

00:02:16 The Blackstone IPO Thriller

00:12:42 How He Spots and Backs Exceptional Talent

00:27:00 How to Build an Organization That Produces Top Talent

00:28:06 How He Sees What Others Miss

00:35:34 How He Makes High-Stakes Decisions

00:37:09 AI and the Future of Investing

00:43:16 Why He Backed Costco

00:46:35 Inside the Costco Chairman’s Cart

00:54:14 How Costco Pays Workers Well and Still Wins

00:58:54 AI, Mount Sinai and the Future of Healthcare

01:03:24 Will AI Replace Doctors?

01:06:26 The Cost of Living Longer

01:11:49 Why Retirement Is Getting Harder

01:22:27 Rethinking Student Loans

01:25:20 Why a Billionaire Works on Solutions for Everyday Americans

01:30:03 What Still Drives Him

01:32:50 Rich Men, Pretty Women Never Hear The Truth

01:38:02 What Money Can’t Change

01:45:11 Rapid Fire

01:50:26 What He Wishes He Knew at 25

01:52:23 Why HBCUs Matter to Him

This episode is for informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, legal, or medical advice.

One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Dr. Alok Tewari is changing how it's detected and treated.
Dr. Alok Tewari is a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School, specialising in genitourinary cancers at Brigham and Women's Hospital. His research is funded by the Department of Defense, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
In this episode, released during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Sophie Bai speaks with Dr. Tewari about the current state of prostate cancer treatment, what patients and their families need to know, and where the science is heading next.

Dr. Robert Langer is the most cited engineer in history, MIT Institute Professor, and co-founder of over 40 biotech companies that have touched billions of lives. He’s also Pavise’s Scientific Advisory Board Chair — and one of the most remarkable scientists alive.

But before any of that, he wrote to 40 universities looking for a job. Not one wrote back. He applied for 9 research grants. All rejected. A professor blew cigar smoke in his face and told him to find another job.

In this episode, Sophie Bai sits down with Bob Langer to talk about 15 years of rejection, the mentor who believed in him when no one else did, the first time his work saved a life, and what he’s building now that could change how we treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

This is the story of what it actually takes to change medicine.