World Changing Ideas

In the United States, nearly three-quarters of adults qualify as overweight or obese, 42% of whom are considered obese. The World Obesity Federation predicts that 51% of the global population will be overweight or obese by 2035.

‘Fast Company’ contributing writer Adam Bluestein joined us to break down how Novo Nordisk, the company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, developed and marketed its weight-loss drugs. He also explained why the drugs have become so popular in the U.S., how drug pricing is extremely complicated and . . . how the medications actually work to help people lose weight.

Also, we chatted with Trina Spear about how she founded Figs, a DTC healthcare apparel company.

Shein is a giant fast fashion retailer that's looking into filing an IPO. Fast Company Senior Staff Writer Liz Segran helps break down what that might mean for both the company and the fast fashion industry at large.

For more on Shein, check out Liz's article

Serendipitously, Shein’s head of strategic communications Peter Pernot-Day also joined us. He filled us in on how the company's on-demand model is constantly responding to consumers, creating low inventory levels, which leads to virtually no waste. "That means that we can pass on tremendous savings to our customers because we do not have to account for inventory risk in any of the garments we offer. Really, the entire purpose of the site is to give people lots of options to see what they actually want to wear at that present moment and then to produce only what we think they will actually purchase." He also discussed the company's zero tolerance for forced labor, vetting its supply chain and abiding by its environmental standards. "If a large player like us is paying attention to these things, that helps the entire supplier network, the entire supplier ecosystem realize, hey, this is the new way of doing business. This is what it means to participate with a global brand like Shein.

For more MIC behind the scenes, check out Yaz at @yazzyg on Instagram and Josh @joshuagchris on TikTok!

James Vincent talks with Josh Wolfe, co-founder and managing partner of Lux Capital, about the need for technology to come from companies we trust and the role human nature plays in the application of technology.

The long-simmering fault lines within OpenAI over questions of safety with regard to the deployment of large language models like GPT, the engine behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Dall-E services, came to a head on November 17 when the organization’s nonprofit board of directors voted to fire CEO Sam Altman. But then he was reinstated on November 22. It’s been a wild ride, but Fast Company senior writers Ainsley Harris and Mark Sullivan joined us to help break down the confusing back and forth at the generative AI company.

For more on the company’s tumultuous activities, check out Ainsley's and Mark's reporting.

“We need to make it a little more snackable, a little bit more bite-size.” USAFacts president Poppy MacDonald explained how she helps make government data more accessible, available, and interactive. Founded and funded by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the nonpartisan nonprofit ensures government data is available to the general public. But what about operating in a post-truth world? MacDonald explained they don’t get involved in polling or forecasts, and instead they stick with what the facts are as published by the government. They provide the data and then people—whether an individual, business, or elected leader—decide what they want to do about that data. “We’re really hoping for a healthy debate, but we think a healthy debate about how to move our democracy forward starts with facts.”

For more MIC behind the scenes, check out Yaz at @yazzyg on Instagram and Josh @joshuagchris on TikTok!

James Vincent talks with Jason Citron from Discord about safety, togetherness, and how we can use good AI to battle bad AI.

After 118 days, the SAG-AFTRA strike finally came to a close. Fast Company deputy digital editor Morgan Clendaniel breaks down what happened this past summer with the strike, as well as the overall state of unions at the moment. As of airing this episode, the union’s national board approved the new contract with major studios and sent it to membership for ratification.

“I’m completely uninterested in building small things.” Emma Grede has started a LOT of businesses. Probably best known for cofounding Good American, Emma is also a founding partner at Skims. For her, when it comes to starting a business, it’s never about who she’s going to partner with but rather what problem are we solving: What are we trying to do, and how do we uniquely align that with the right individual at the time?

As she was starting out, Emma worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Dior, Chanel, and Calvin Klein. She said that gave her a kind of unique understanding and perspective, but also a clear insight into what she considers one of the best accelerators: fame. “I was very, very early in influencer marketing, and I think that we’ve seen enough celebrities create brands and fail or create brands and not have success like Good American and Skims and Safely to know that it isn’t talent alone [that’s] going to propel a brand.”

For more MIC behind-the-scenes, check out Yaz at @yazzyg on Instagram and Josh @joshuagchris on TikTok!

James Vincent talks with Hovhannes Avoyan, founder and president of Picsart, about leaning into AI and how the future will favor problem solving

A year ago, Elon Musk bought Twitter for a whopping $44 billion. Since then the platform has changed dramatically . . . even its name. Senior staff editor Max Ufberg joins us again to break down what’s been going on at Twitter, er X, over the past year.

Also, “Black women are the fastest-growing segment of entrepreneurs in this country,” says Nyakio Grieco, “yet still receive less than 1% of venture funding.” Grieco, founder of Relevant Skin and cofounder of Thirteen Lune, chats about her experience as a Black female entrepreneur and creating a beauty brand that’s exclusively inclusive. “We all have melanin, so this is a melanin-safe brand for all,” she says. But Grieco’s mission in launching Relevant Skin was to come up with products that wouldn’t be harmful to people with more melanin in their skin, which includes Black people and other people of color, so she did a deep dive along with her chemist. Grieco explained that the more melanin you have, the more prone you are to eczema, rosacea, hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation. . . . “So, we want it to build efficacious products, steeped in history [with] timeless ingredients, as well as be married to the best science to make sure no one feels left out at the shelf.”

For more MIC behind-the-scenes, check out Yaz at @yazzyg on Instagram and Josh @joshuagchris on TikTok!

James Vincent talks with Rachel Delacour, co-founder and CEO of Sweep, about how to make your company resilient, how constraints breed creativity, and how climate impacts business.

Companies now have mountains of data to help drive decisions and develop products, but a holistic approach to product development must also prioritize customers’ needs and preferences. In this podcast interview, Stephanie Mehta, CEO of Mansueto Ventures, the parent of Fast Company, sits down with Emily Roberts, Senior Vice President and Head of Enterprise Consumer Product at Capital One to hear how to harness the power of technology and customer feedback loops to innovate products and experiences.