As many organizations throughout the business landscape implement return-to-office mandates, the debate around RTO’s impact on performance and culture intensifies. Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei joins Rapid Response to bust popular myths around in-person work, and reveal the surprising intentions of many pro-RTO business leaders. Frei also shares insights about AI’s impact on corporate life, valuable tips to make your meetings more efficient, and more.

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Amid higher costs, longer wait times and waning sales, Starbucks is ready for a brand refresh. The company’s new CEO, Brian Niccol joins Rapid Response to reveal how Starbucks plans to go back to its roots and prioritize human connection in the hopes of restoring the brand’s position in US culture. Niccol also shares insights about evolving Starbucks’ business model, tackling the Chinese market, and how AI and tariffs are poised to shape the brand’s future. 

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After 17 years, Airbnb’s Brian Chesky is hitting ‘reset’ — reinventing the business from the ground up and expanding the brand in unexpected ways. Chesky joins Rapid Response to explain why now is the right time for Airbnb’s ‘great reinvention’, how it connects to the evolution of AI, China’s Deepseek, and more. Chesky also shares his unconventional employee philosophy – what he calls “the fallacy of autonomy”, and takes us inside his relationship with Sam Altman, revealing previously unheard details about Altman's brief yet tumultuous dismissal from OpenAI.

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As Chinese AI developers send shockwaves through Silicon Valley, and Elon Musk spats with President Trump over AI policy, Reid Hoffman returns to Rapid Response to explore today’s AI landscape, and the secrets behind a concept he calls AI ‘Superagency’. Hoffman shares his vision for what an AI-infused workday will soon look like, how we address society’s greatest fears about technology, and more. As we enter a daunting new era — politically, socially and technologically — Hoffman urges listeners to choose curiosity over fear.

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From Netflix’s new blockbuster earnings report to controversial moves announced by Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, tech and media are navigating seismic shifts amid a rapidly evolving political and cultural landscape. CNBC’s Julia Boorstin joins Bob Safian to decode the streaming wars, plus the business risks and reasons behind Meta’s abrupt changes of course. As leader of CNBC’s annual Changemakers list and author of the book “When Women Lead,” Boorstin also weighs in on why developing more women in business and entrepreneurship makes bottom-line sense in any era.

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As return-to-office policies reignite the perennial debate over work-life balance, a cultural shift is underway. Neha Ruch, founder of Mother Untitled and author of The Power Pause, is leading the charge to redefine the role – and perception – of working parents. In this episode of Rapid Response, she explores how career pauses can drive personal growth, expand networks, and unlock better long-term career outcomes. As support systems for parents become increasingly strained, Neha sparks an essential dialogue about our well-being, self-fulfillment, and the evolving definition of success.

Find The Power Pause: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids--and Come Back Stronger Than Ever here: https://www.motheruntitled.com/thepowerpause

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In anticipation of Monday’s presidential inauguration, businesses around the world are crafting their response and gearing up for four years of change. Barby Siegel, CEO of global communications agency Zeno Group, joins Rapid Response to explore how leaders should assess what issues are right for their business to speak out on, and how the new administration impacts the already evolving state of DEI, a polarized workforce, and more. While many executives feel intimidated by the increased societal pressure on businesses, Barby encourages listeners to instead embrace this new era as a hidden opportunity. 

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Wildfires have forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate their homes in the Los Angeles area, and killed at least 24 people. In what will likely be the most costly disaster in U.S. history, thousands of homes and businesses have been lost. In a special edition of Rapid Response, host Bob Safian and show producers share on-the-ground perspectives from entrepreneurs who have been directly impacted.

A couple who ran a small bakery in Altadena, Pain Beurre, share the story of losing their business and home to the flames. The restaurant chain HomeState describes how it’s engaging team members in food relief, and pivoting a closed location to distribute aid. And the LA project manager for World Central Kitchen (chef José Andrés' global organization) details how its global/local playbook is taking shape amid these fires.

If you'd like to support any of the organizations featured, please follow the links below:

Pain Beurre: A Micro Bakery

HomeState

World Central Kitchen

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In recent months, the fashion industry has seen unprecedented price hikes, CEO turnovers, sustainability back-peddling, and more — culminating in what The Business of Fashion’s Imran Amed is calling, a ‘full-blown luxury crisis’. Amed joins Rapid Response to take us inside the industry chaos, and share his insights and predictions for the year ahead. Plus, he shares how the savviest brands today are finally cracking into the Indian market, finding a competitive advantage with AI, and taking inspiration from Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh.

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

Donate to Baby2Baby: https://baby2baby.org/

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Entering 2025, AI is poised to continue disrupting, redefining and supercharging the business world. AI expert and Pioneers of AI host, Rana El Kaliouby, joins Rapid Response to share five bold AI predictions for the year ahead – from technological advancements to societal impact to investing. Whether you’re looking for AI to further enhance your work, portfolio, or personal productivity, Rana’s insights are the ideal primer for harnessing all the opportunity and potential at your disposal this year.

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

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

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