The U.S. is falling behind in its economic competition with China. One potential solution? An expansion of executive power. That’s according to investor and contributing New York Times columnist Steven Rattner. Rattner served as counselor to the Treasury secretary in the Obama administration; he was known as President Obama’s “car czar,” for leading the team that saved the auto industry in the wake of the financial crisis. Today, we discuss why Rattner’s recent trip to China convinced him the U.S. is not winning, and his practical ideas for how we can turn things around — and fast. 

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When Elon Musk started Neuralink in 2016, he tapped leading neurosurgeon Ben Rapoport to join as a co-founder. But two years later, citing safety and scalability concerns, Rapoport left to co-found a rival company: Precision Neuroscience. Today, we speak with his co-founder, Michael Mager, about what sets Precision apart, the future of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs), and what Precision has already been able to achieve with over 70 implanted patients. 

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Jeff Selingo is not impressed with how colleges are responding to AI. Selingo has spent decades covering higher education and work, and recently spoke with dozens of professors, administrators, and students about what he calls “the campus AI crisis.” While some faculty are still trying to ban the new technology entirely, others struggle to build smart programs to teach students how to use AI. So what is the right way for colleges to embrace AI? How do we prepare students to enter the job market today? We ask Selingo how he’d redesign higher education for the moment. 

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Bill Gurley is a legendary venture capitalist known for backing Uber, Zillow, GrubHub, and many others. But when he started his career, he thought he was going to be a computer engineer. How did he make the pivot? That is just one story Gurley tells in his upcoming book, Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love. In this episode, Gurley shares his words of wisdom, and, of course, we ask his thoughts on the colossal bubble-in-the-making that is AI.

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Venture capitalist, writer, and researcher Paul Kedrosky thinks it's likely that in the near future, an AI crash will cause widespread damage to the economy—but he's still optimistic about the technology anyway. Today, he tells us why, and shares his boldest predictions about AI, including why OpenAI won't last, and why he'd bet against any of the Mag 7, too.

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Economist Eswar Prasad believes the world’s economic order is stuck in a doom loop. While globalization has increased global prosperity, it’s also left many people behind. That has set off a global “politics of resentment,” enabling the rise of populist leaders who promise a return to economic independence and nationalism. So what do we do about it? Despite the title of Professor Prasad’s new book, The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling into Disorder, he does have answers, and some optimism. 

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Your devices could soon be decoding your most intimate thoughts. It’s just a matter of time, according to neurotechnology expert Nita Farahany. There are already devices on the market that track our brain waves, from rings to smartwatches to new products like Meta’s neural band. How do we safeguard our cognitive liberty?

Nita Farahany is a Professor of Law and Philosophy at Duke University and the author of The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology. We discuss the benefits and risks of opening our brains to our tech in education, work, law, and life.  

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If we're truly in an AI bubble close to bursting, how do we avoid economic catastrophe? That's a question we bring to Andrew Ross Sorkin this week, whose new book, 1929: The Inside Story of The Greatest Crash in Wall Street History, has as much to say about the present as it does the past. We ask Andrew what warning signs he sees in the market, how the government should respond to a crash, and what lessons from the 1920s apply today.

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The data is in: remote work is better for everyone. At least when it’s done right. Stanford Economics Professor Nicholas Bloom has been studying hybrid work since before the pandemic, and he says that companies that have embraced remote work have seen gains in productivity and retention while lowering costs. So why are executives at JP Morgan and Amazon ordering employees back? Today: Professor Bloom explains his data-backed recommendation for the right number of days to spend at the office. 

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Best-selling author, podcaster, and professor Scott Galloway is worried about men. He sees them falling behind and he thinks the left, especially, is overlooking their crises. So he’s provided his own guidance in a new book, “Notes on Being a Man.” Part memoir and part advice, Galloway argues that a man’s job is to “protect, provide, and procreate.” Today we ask: where does that leave women? What can be done to help young men, especially on the job market? And in a society where many women are the breadwinners of their households, what does “provide” mean for men? 

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