This year on The McKinsey Podcast, we’ve dived into an array of topics on leadership, organizational change, and technological innovation, talking to McKinsey’s most seasoned experts about how to lead during times of geopolitical upheaval and economic uncertainty, as well as how to harness and then radiate the advances made possible by AI. We didn’t just go for the broad strokes. We heard from McKinsey partners about the questions they’re getting every day from their clients across industries. How can leaders move forward competitively in a business climate so full of flux and opportunity? Our guests this year had plenty of ideas.

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Yes, dreaming up your next getaway can be exhilarating. But booking it? Often less so. For many customers, the thrill of travel risks getting lost in logistics, says McKinsey Senior Partner Jules Seeley. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, he joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on the rise of AI in the travel industry, including the advent of AI agents that could design end-to-end itineraries, rebook disrupted flights, and tailor recommendations to each traveler’s tastes—changing the calculus for customers and travel employees alike.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

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From gen AI pilots to automated supply chains, technology is reshaping how operations leaders create efficiencies, build resilience, and encourage teamwork. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Daniel Swan speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about how COOs can embed technology, particularly AI, into their company’s culture. It requires balancing the urgency of today with the transformation of tomorrow.

Articles/pieces mentioned:

The hard stuff 2025: Taking stock of progress on the physical challenges of the energy transition

The state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformation

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

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Not all consumer attention is created equal—that’s a critical lesson from McKinsey’s recent report on content creation and monetization. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Kabir Ahuja speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about something called the “attention equation” and how media players can use it to get a better return on their investments. It’s about quality of focus, Ahuja reminds us, not just quantity of eyeballs.

Articles Mentioned:

The FDI shake-up: How foreign direct investment today may shape industry and trade tomorrow

How Strategy Champions win

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What if a product’s journey didn’t end after its first use? Remanufacturing—restoring preowned parts to perform like new—is transforming automotives, electronics, and other industries. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partner Inga Maurer and Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro explore how this practice reduces waste while creating more value for companies.

Articles Mentioned: 

One year of agentic AI: Six lessons from the people doing the work

The infrastructure moment

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Most leaders set out to be the best—but few make that Mount Everest–like ascent successfully. What do the world’s most iconic CEOs do differently? McKinsey Senior Partners Carolyn Dewar, Kurt Strovink, Scott Keller, and Vik Malhotra break it down in their new book A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership (Scribner/Simon & Schuster, October 2025), based on research and interviews with executives ranking among the top 200 CEOs across the globe. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, the four coauthors join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss some of the more surprising lessons they learned—and what they’ve changed about their own leadership as a result.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

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There is no single definition of “rural America.” It comprises agricultural hubs, manufacturing centers, and fast-growing regions—each a regional archetypes with its own distinct challenges and opportunities. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partner Nora Gardner joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss these archetypes and new research that can help leaders better understand rural communities.

In our second segment, McKinsey Partner Sarah Tucker-Ray speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about how rural K–12 education can equip students with the skills needed for advanced manufacturing—and why partnerships with industry matter for the future of rural America.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

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Chief marketing officers are vital to strategic decision-making, but increasingly, they’re being left out of the discussions that matter most—to the detriment of both customers and growth. “Kelsey and I are on a singular mission to bring CMOs back,” McKinsey Senior Partner Shelley Stewart III said recently, referring to Senior Partner Kelsey Robinson. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Shelley and Kelsey join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on worsening disconnects in the C-suite, as well as how strengthening alignment between CMOs, CEOs, and CFOs can make a meaningful and sustainable difference in organizational performance. This conversation originally aired as a McKinsey Live webinar following the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

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Don’t lose sight of the long term. It’s a core message from the eighth edition of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, McKinsey’s seminal guide for corporate-finance professionals. It also describes the unique investment approach of the legendary investor Warren Buffett, who will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, we hear an excerpt from our Author Talks series featuring Valuation coauthor and McKinsey Partner Tim Koller and Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro. They talk about what’s changed in the business world since the first edition of Valuation was published, some 35 years ago. He also touches on Buffett’s approach to investing, including why it worked and whether it can be replicated.

Articles/pieces mentioned:

Tariffs and trade: Preparing for the unpredictable

Confronting the affordable-housing crisis

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Pickleball, padel—yes, they’re hot. Nevertheless, a third of the world’s adults are inactive—and among youth, inactivity is even more pronounced, according to McKinsey Partner Alexander Thiel. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Alexander joins Global Editorial Director and Deputy Publisher Lucia Rahilly to discuss this year’s whipsawing consumer trends, as well as what sporting goods leaders can do to harness them to combat slowing growth.

Articles/pieces mentioned:

Can Bloomingdale’s bring the magic back to department stores?

McKinsey's 2025 annual book recommendations

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