The Next Big Idea

Leslie John, a Harvard Business School professor who studies decision-making and personal disclosure, challenges the taboo around oversharing. She explains why undersharing harms trust. Short stories and experiments show how vulnerability builds connection, helps hiring and leadership, deepens friendships, and even boosts customer trust when companies reveal downsides.

McKay Coppins, an Atlantic staff writer who spent a year undercover in the sports-betting boom. He recounts why he took the $10,000 experiment, early wins that bred dangerous confidence, and the tech and app design that make betting frictionless. He also explores prediction markets, teen exposure, and how wagering reshapes fandom, athletes’ lives, and personal relationships.

Michael Pollan, author known for books on food, consciousness, and psychedelics, discusses food and diet, his writing process, and the role of psychedelics and dreams in understanding self. He tackles animal and plant sentience, the timeline for psychedelic therapy, AI’s impact on attention, and previews his next project on the microbiome.

Kevin Ashton, technologist and author who coined “Internet of Things,” offers a brisk mini-history of storytelling tech. He walks from fireside talk to smartphones. He explores how new media reshape belief, how algorithms amplify extremes, and why photorealistic AI could blur story and reality. Short, sharp, and thought-provoking.

Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author of The Power of Habit, explains how communication is a learnable skill. He explores conversation modes, matching emotional tone, using deep questions to invite vulnerability, the role of laughter and authenticity, and practical techniques like looping to reduce conflict. Short, practical, and surprising takes on creating real connection.

Scott Anderson, veteran war correspondent and author of King of Kings, walks through the U.S.-Iran history and contemporary crises. He discusses recent strikes, unpredictability of decision-making, risks of civilian harm, how Iran might retaliate economically and regionally, and the historical roots of the 1979 revolution. Short, sharp takes on what could come next.

Emad Mostaque co-founded Stability AI, the company behind the text-to-image generator Stable Diffusion, and he now runs Intelligent Internet, which builds open-source AI models. In his new book, ⁠The Last Economy⁠, he argues that AI is about to make human intellect so cheap and abundant that the entire economic order — work, money, meaning — will crack apart. And he thinks this will take place within a thousand days. In this episode, he and Rufus talk about what happens if we sleepwalk into this, and what's possible if we don't. Watch The Next Big Idea on YouTube! You can find our episodes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Rufus on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠, subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠, or send us an email at ⁠podcast@nextbigideaclub.com⁠. We love getting fan mail. Sponsored By: Bitdefender — Get 30% off your plan at ⁠bitdefender.com/idea⁠ Fabric — Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family at ⁠meetfabric.com/nbi⁠ Factor — Head to ⁠⁠factormeals.com/idea50off⁠⁠ and use code idea50off to get 50% off your first box Granola — Get three months free at ⁠granola.ai/idea⁠ Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠shopify.com/nbi⁠⁠⁠

Hélène Landemore, a Yale political scientist who studies democratic design and champions citizen assemblies, argues for replacing electoral elites with randomly selected citizens. She explores sortition from ancient Athens to modern Ireland. Short takes cover why elections concentrate power, how citizen juries can tackle taboo issues like tax and climate, and practical hybrid reforms with existing institutions.

Ian Leslie, author and journalist who studies creativity, explores the Lennon–McCartney partnership as a singular creative friendship. He traces their instant musical chemistry, shared trauma, Hamburg years of intense practice, genre-hopping curiosity, vocal blending, and how rivalry and constraints fueled their invention. The conversation highlights the strange, romantic quality of their bond and why it mattered for their music.

Michael Pollan, author known for exploring food, plants, and the mind, discusses his book A World Appears. He traces consciousness from brainstem feelings to self-aware minds. Topics include plant sentience, bioelectric explanations for cognition, why AI may not truly feel, social roots of selfhood, and the value of mind-wandering and meditation.