When AI agents do your shopping, everything changes, with Shopify’s Jess Hertz

More from Rapid Response All episodes →

1. 

   18 Sep 2026 · 33 min

   Stop creating businesses. Buy one instead, with Codie Sanchez

   Own or be owned. That's Codie Sanchez's ultimatum for anyone serious about their financial future. The founder of Contrarian Thinking and author of the new book Own or Be Owned returns to Rapid Response to make her most impassioned case yet for why buying a small business is the most reliable path to wealth that most people are too scared to take. She breaks down what "cowboying" your business is costing you, and why AI isn’t a shortcut for everyone, but instead an accelerator for what's already inside you. Plus, the industries she'd invest in right now, and why most small business owners…

2. 

   15 Sep 2026 · 33 min

   Let’s Kill Sh*t: Axios CEO on simplifying your work-life in the AI era

   AI isn't simplifying your life… Yet. It's mass-producing more options, more decisions, and more noise. Axios CEO Jim VandeHei returns to Rapid Response to make the case that the antidote isn't a better productivity app, it's a ruthless, three-part system he calls Confront, Delete, Amplify. VandeHei shares what he's learned from running Axios by these principles, including calling a leadership meeting with the subject heading "Let's Kill S***," and why he shuttered the Axios app despite years of internal resistance. He also reveals his candid read on the midterms and what they mean for…

3. 

   11 Sep 2026 · 27 min

   On's 16-year overnight success: Zendaya, Federer, and outrunning competition

   On built a $4 billion sports brand in 16 years with a garden hose, a Roger Federer dinner in Zurich, and a young designer who watched a Halloween YouTube video. Co-founder and co-CEO David Allemann joins Rapid Response to explain why the defining decade for On is still ahead, and why being the most premium brand matters more than being the biggest. He breaks down the leadership shake-up that brought him back into a CEO role, and what the first-of-its-kind LightSpray robotic process says about On’s innovation philosophy. Allemann also makes the case for why the "movement class" is replacing…

4. 

   8 Sep 2026 · 25 min

   NFL Kickoff: the science gets more damning, but the money keeps growing

   The NFL is the world's most valuable sports business, and it keeps growing. But is the growth sustainable? Sports journalist Michele Steele joins Rapid Response to kick off the 2026-2027 NFL season with a clear-eyed look at what's driving record franchise valuations, why quarterback salaries keep exploding, and what the league's dizzying array of streaming platforms means for the fans. She also breaks down the NFL's deliberate "Helmets Off" strategy to grow its female audience, the business calculus behind nine international games this season, and whether the Bears are really leaving…

5. 

   4 Sep 2026 · 29 min

   Masters of Scale: Always be the challenger, with Savannah Bananas founder Jesse Cole

   Jesse Cole loved baseball. He also knew most people thought it was too long and boring. So he disrupted America’s pastime by putting on a yellow tux - and an incredible show. In this episode of Masters of Scale, the founder of the Savannah Bananas welcomed host Jeff Berman to Anaheim Stadium before a show recently to talk about how he’s scaling Fans First Entertainment into a growing league that sells out pro sports stadiums all over the country.Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and…

6. 

   27 Aug 2026 · 36 min

   Chicago Fed President on inflation, recession, and Trump’s attacks

   The economy is strong, prices are still too high, and the job market is sending mixed signals. The Federal Reserve is navigating all of it while fending off the most overt political pressure in its modern history. Austan Goolsbee, President of the Chicago Fed, joins Rapid Response ahead of the Central Bank’s highly-watched meeting in Jackson Hole, to give his most candid read on what's actually going on. He explains why tariffs, war in the Middle East, and six years above the 2% inflation target make this the most dangerous inflation environment he's seen, what Kevin Warsh's new leadership…

7. 

   25 Aug 2026 · 28 min

   Ford's Jim Farley on beating China, and the storm nobody sees coming

   This episode originally aired on Rapid Response in April 2026.With the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and fuel prices still elevated, few auto executives are feeling the pressure more acutely than Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley. He joins Rapid Response to give a candid account of what the turmoil means for the auto industry, and for an iconic American brand navigating one of the most turbulent moments in its history. Farley gets frank about the China threat reshaping the global auto business, and his frustration with Ford's own ingenuity. Plus, why Ford is back in Formula One,…

8. 

   21 Aug 2026 · 30 min

   How Snoop Dogg, Comic-Con, and cold calls are growing USA Fencing

   Fencing is one of the oldest sports in Olympic history. It's also one of the least watched domestically. Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing, is on a mission to change that, and with the 2028 Los Angeles Games on the horizon, he's running out of time. Andrews joins Rapid Response to reveal how he's building a sports brand with almost no budget and no marketing playbook, cold-calling CMOs, crashing Comic-Con, and convincing Snoop Dogg and Flavor Flav to pick up a sword. He also explains why he banded together five niche sports into a collective to take on sponsors as a group, and how the sport's…

9. 

   18 Aug 2026 · 30 min

   What the jobs report isn't telling you about AI & the workforce, with Upwork’s Hayden Brown

   Few leaders have a better real-time read on how AI is actually reshaping the workforce than Hayden Brown. As CEO of Upwork, the platform where 18 million freelancers meet the businesses that need them, she sees what the monthly jobs report can't: which skills are surging, which jobs are quietly disappearing, and why 23% of businesses that moved work to AI are already bringing humans back. Brown joins Rapid Response to share what she's actually seeing on the ground, why she refused to blame AI when she laid off a quarter of Upwork's staff, and what the data says about the gap between AI hype…

10. 

    15 Aug 2026 · 32 min

    Masters of Scale: Author Jim Collins on unlocking your potential

    Jim Collins is the author of some of the most important business books of all time, like Good to Great and Built to Last. For his latest project, instead of profiling iconic companies, he zoomed in on extraordinary individuals we can learn from. He joined Masters of Scale to reveal how icons like Grace Hopper and John Glenn illustrate lessons on how to navigate the cliffs and fog of life. Find out more about the book: jimcollins.comSubscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy…