Why transformations stall—and where only CEOs make the difference

More from The McKinsey Podcast All episodes →

1. 

   8 Oct 2026 · 17 min

   The playbook for seeing around geopolitical corners

   Geopolitical surprise has become a permanent cost of doing business—and a one-size-fits-all approach to scenario planning can’t keep pace with it. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , Partner and Global Director of Geopolitics Ziad Haider joins Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to unpack five tools for sharpening foresight: horizon scanning, scenario planning, contingency planning, simulations, and tabletop exercises. They discuss why so few companies use these tools at scale, how AI is starting to reshape geopolitical risk assessment, and why human judgment remains…

2. 

   1 Oct 2026 · 19 min

   The hidden value of physical AI

   Nearly half of all paid work hours are tied to physical tasks, from moving and making things to inspecting equipment and transporting goods. Today, much of that work remains beyond the reach of traditional automation. Physical AI could begin to change that, expanding the range of tasks machines can perform reliably, safely, and economically. That means more than robots that can outpace Usain Bolt; it means intelligent, adaptable systems that “sense, decide, and act based on the physical world around them,” according to McKinsey Senior Partner Mark Patel . And that physical world…

3. 

   24 Sep 2026 · 24 min

   Democratized superintelligence is coming: The world needs to get ready

   What happens when AI agents can reason through problems well enough to complete real work on their own? This episode of The McKinsey Podcast offers answers to that question and more from OpenAI’s chair Bret Taylor, who is also cofounder of Sierra—which helps some of the world’s biggest companies build sophisticated AI agents, including about 40 percent of the Fortune 50. Taylor speaks with Eric Kutcher , McKinsey senior partner and chair of North America, about where AI is already reshaping customer service, sales, and software engineering; why open-weight models will…

4. 

   10 Sep 2026 · 10 min

   Is progress behind us, or is ‘plenty’ still possible?

   Over the past 100 years, humanity has made stunning advances: longer lives, higher incomes, and billions of people lifted out of poverty. Much of that progress remains uneven and incomplete, however. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , we share an adapted conversation from the McKinsey Global Institute’s (MGI) podcast A Century of Plenty , which draws on insights from the institute’s recent book of the same name. The book’s coauthors, McKinsey’s Chris Bradley , Marc Canal , Nick Leung , and Sven Smit, explore whether a new era of broad-based prosperity will…

5. 

   3 Sep 2026 · 25 min

   Made in America, again? Rethinking US manufacturing resilience

   Geopolitical fragmentation, the rise of AI, and growing concern about supply chain resilience are putting US manufacturing back in the spotlight. But strengthening America’s industrial base isn’t simply a matter of bringing factories home. The US imports roughly $3 trillion in manufactured goods each year, and some of its most critical supply chains would require a dramatic expansion of domestic capacity. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) Chair and Senior Partner Shubham Singhal and Senior Fellow Rebecca J. Anderson join Editorial Director…

6. 

   27 Aug 2026 · 21 min

   Consumers don’t trust AI advice. They turn to it anyway.

   Shoppers are awash in product recommendations. But do they trust them? “We found significant skepticism around algorithm-driven channels like social media, and in particular generative AI, where the trust level is below 40 percent,” says Danielle Bozarth, global leader of McKinsey’s Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods Practices . In this episode of McKinsey Podcast , Bozarth joins Senior Partner Clarisse Magnin and Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to talk about AI-powered shopping and other trends reshaping consumers’ path to purchase—and what brands need…

7. 

   20 Aug 2026 · 23 min

   Earning and sustaining trust in the age of AI

   As artificial intelligence reshapes what investors expect from their advisors, asset managers are being pressed to move faster without eroding the trust that took decades to build. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partner and North America chair Eric Kutcher, speaks with Andrew Schlossberg, president and CEO of Invesco, about navigating market volatility, putting AI directly in employees' hands rather than dictating it from the top, and slowing down to speed up. In this recurring series on The McKinsey Podcast, Kutcher speaks with top CEOs about the practice of…

8. 

   13 Aug 2026 · 24 min

   How premium leisure travel is rewriting airline economics

   Window or aisle? These days, if you’re at the front of the plane, you don’t have to choose: “Everything is about having direct aisle access from every seat,” says Steve Saxon , coleader of McKinsey’s Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice. And that’s just one of the many ways airlines are reinventing the premium experience for a burgeoning customer segment: the affluent vacationers now occupying seats once dominated by corporate road warriors. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , Saxon talks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about why…