3 Takeaways™

What if trying harder is sometimes exactly the wrong thing to do?

Angela Duckworth, University of Pennsylvania psychologist, MacArthur Fellow, and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Grit, has spent years studying achievement. In her new book, Situated, she explores why perseverance alone isn't enough.

She discusses:

• How Angela and her husband nearly “gritted” their way out of their marriage
• How much your environment shapes who you become
• The small change that can make good habits easier
• Why parents may be asking the wrong question about their children
• How peer pressure can become a force for good
• Whether AI could make us worse at thinking
• When changing your situation matters more than changing yourself

We spend enormous energy trying to improve ourselves. Angela Duckworth asks a different question: what if the more important thing is to change what’s around us?

What can we do when doing the morally “right” thing produces worse outcomes?

And what if some of society’s strongest moral instincts are preventing us from solving problems we all agree are terrible?

Alvin Roth is a Stanford professor and Nobel Prize-winning economist whose work has helped redesign real-world systems, including kidney exchanges and the way doctors are matched with hospitals. His new book, Moral Economics, tackles a harder category of problems: markets and behaviors we find morally objectionable, even when banning them may create consequences we don’t want.

He discusses:

• Why nearly 100,000 Americans can be waiting for a kidney 
• What prohibitions of alcohol and heroin can teach us 
• What happened when Rhode Island accidentally legalized indoor prostitution
• Whether paying kidney donors could save lives without creating an ethically unacceptable market
• Why evidence becomes especially important when reasonable people disagree about morality
• Whether performance-enhancing drugs could eventually become as ordinary as coffee

Some policies sound obviously right when judged by their intentions. But what happens when you judge them by their actual consequences?

Roth pushes into the uncomfortable territory between those two questions: when banning something creates a black market, when changing a rule may save more lives than inventing a new technology, and what we should do when the outcome we believe is morally necessary turns out to be something we cannot actually achieve.

Could America build the world’s best AI and still lose the AI race?

What if the biggest threat to America’s lead isn’t China’s technology, but our own fear of using it?

Katrina Mulligan is Head of National Security Partnerships at OpenAI and previously served in senior roles at the Department of Defense, National Security Council, and Department of Justice. Few people have seen both Washington and frontier AI development from the inside.

She argues that AI is no longer a technology question for the future. It is becoming core infrastructure for economic strength, national security, and the way we work.

She discusses:

●  Why America could win the race to AGI but lose on adoption
●  Why trust in AI is dramatically higher in China and the developing world
●  How China and the U.S. are taking fundamentally different approaches to AI
●  Why AI may ultimately transform society as profoundly as electricity
●  The biggest mistake leaders make when trying to adopt AI
●  Why AI transformation cannot simply be delegated to the IT department
●  How she has used AI to become at least 30% more effective at her own job
●  Why using AI like a search engine means dramatically underestimating what it can do

America may currently have the advantage in building the most advanced AI.

Katrina explains in today's 3 Takeaways™ conversation why that lead is far from guaranteed, how fear could become a strategic disadvantage, and why the countries and organizations that learn to redesign themselves around AI may ultimately have the most to gain.

What if your brain isn’t showing you the world as it truly is?

Journalist, professor, and author of "A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness" Michael Pollan explores one of the deepest questions of all: why do we experience anything in the first place? 

He discusses:

• What consciousness actually is
• Why the brain predicts reality instead of simply taking it in
• How perception may be a kind of “controlled hallucination”
• Why we may see the world in the most useful way, not the most accurate way
• What animals, plants, and AI reveal about consciousness
• Why feelings may be central to being conscious
• Why attention may be one of our most precious resources
• How social media and AI are putting consciousness under siege
• Why consciousness is something we may need to protect and cultivate

The world you see may feel solid, obvious, and real.

But Michael Pollan explains why the experience of being conscious is far stranger, more fragile, and more mysterious than most of us realize.

Why would the world’s largest country risk everything to destroy a smaller neighbor?

What is it about Ukraine that poses a greater threat to Vladimir Putin than any army?

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and The Atlantic writer Anne Applebaum has spent decades studying Russia, Ukraine, and authoritarian regimes. She argues that the war is being fought over far more than territory and that the outcome will reshape democracy, military power, and global politics.

She discusses:

● What Putin was really trying to prevent when he invaded Ukraine
● Why nearly everyone underestimated the Ukrainian people
● How architects, engineers, and entrepreneurs began reinventing modern warfare
● What drones have revealed about the future of war
● The first warning sign that a democracy is beginning to fail
● How modern propaganda works without persuading anyone
● Why leaders often become dramatically richer as democracy weakens

The maps don’t tell the whole story of this war.

Anne Applebaum explains what’s actually at stake, why Putin hasn’t achieved what he expected, and what Ukraine may reveal about the hidden strengths of democracy.

How does someone steal the Mona Lisa from the Louvre and simply walk away? 

And how did an even more brazen crew rob the same museum in broad daylight last year with just a cherry picker and some power tools?

The real stories are stranger than Hollywood and best-selling author Noah Charney knows them all. One of the world’s leading experts on art crime, he has advised museums, governments, and law enforcement agencies around the world.  

It turns out that stealing priceless art is often surprisingly easy. It’s turning the art into money that’s nearly impossible.

He explains:

◼ How a thief had unwitting Louvre workers help him walk out of the Louvre with the Mona Lisa
◼ How a brazen team used a cherry picker, power tools, and high-visibility vests to rob the Louvre in broad daylight
◼ Why most real art thieves are nothing like the elegant masterminds portrayed in movies
◼ How Napoleon turned art looting into an organized instrument of empire
◼ Why criminals steal art and how they get themselves apprehended
◼ How movies, fiction, and even the media can unintentionally help art criminals

Artificial intelligence could change almost everything.

John Hennessy thinks we're still asking the wrong questions.

As Chairman of Alphabet and one of the pioneers of modern computing, Hennessy has helped shape some of the biggest technology revolutions of the past half century. 

He explains what today's AI can - and can’t - actually do, what would qualify as artificial general intelligence, and why the greatest impact of AI may come from amplifying human capability rather than replacing it.

He discusses:

• The one capability that still separates humans from machines.
• What would have to happen before we can truly say we've reached artificial general intelligence (AGI).
• How AI could transform scientific discovery.
• The real risks that concern him most.
• Why leadership and human judgment may become even more valuable in the age of AI.
• How to prepare for a future where AI becomes part of almost every profession.

Few people have witnessed as many computing revolutions as John Hennessy. This episode explores what the AI conversation is getting right - and what almost everyone is getting wrong.

Why do some people instantly draw us in?

Olivia Fox Cabane reveals that charisma is not a gift. It is a skill - and most of us misunderstand what creates it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The three qualities that make someone charismatic
• Why introverts can be highly magnetic
• How people judge you before you speak
• Why presence matters more than performance
• The surprising link between confidence and self-compassion
• Simple ways to become more charismatic immediately

Charisma is not just how people feel about you.

It is how you make them feel about themselves.

Olivia Fox Cabane is the author of The Charisma Myth. 

Everyone knows where the last generation of great technology companies came from.

The more interesting question is where the next generation will.

Mehran Gul spent years studying the world's most successful innovation hubs to understand why some places repeatedly create breakthrough companies while others never quite do.

He shares surprising insights about China's rise, Silicon Valley's future, and why artificial intelligence could reshape the global map of innovation in ways that few people expect.

Dr. Robert Cialdini, author of Influence - 5 million copies sold, and one of the most important books Warren Buffett says he's ever read - has spent decades studying why people say yes. 

He reveals the psychological forces shaping our decisions, why tiny changes can dramatically influence outcomes, and how the most effective communicators get people to yes without anyone feeling pushed. 

Once you understand these principles and hidden triggers, you'll start seeing them everywhere.

Most people think healthcare is broken by accident.

Mark Cuban says it isn't.

In part two of our conversation, he explains the hidden companies who really control healthcare, where AI is headed, and the biggest opportunities most people are missing.

He also shares the advice he gives young people, the three “superpowers” he believes matter more than talent, network, or money, and the one question he thinks everyone should ask themselves.

The NBA thought it was selling basketball.

Mark Cuban thought it was selling something else.

That insight shaped how he has built companies, evaluated opportunities, and challenged entire industries.

The lesson starts with basketball. It ends somewhere much bigger. 

He also shares the skill he values most in entrepreneurs, and how AI is changing the way ambitious people learn.

What if those brief conversations - with a barista, a neighbor, or someone sitting next to us - matter far more than we realize?

Gillian Sandstrom, a University of Sussex psychologist and author of Once Upon a Stranger, explores why we're so reluctant to talk to people we don't know, what happens when we do, and how seemingly small interactions can add up to a richer, happier, and more connected life.

The wind stops blowing. The sun goes down.
What happens next?

Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz explains why the transition to clean energy may be far more complicated than most people realize.

In one of the most clear-eyed conversations about our energy future, Moniz pulls back the curtain on what it will actually take to build energy that is clean, reliable, and affordable - and why some of the hardest challenges have little to do with solar panels or wind turbines.

He reveals which emerging technologies - from hydrogen to nuclear fusion - could reshape the future of energy, why storage remains a major hurdle, and what many people misunderstand about renewable power.

What will it really take to keep the lights on in a low-carbon world?

We think of North Korea as a communist dictatorship. But Jonathan Cheng, the Wall Street Journal’s China Bureau Chief and former Korea Bureau Chief, says that misses the real story.

He argues North Korea functions more like a religion -  complete with rituals, worship, and a ruling family treated like immortals. Once you hear it, you can’t unsee it.

His new book is Korean Messiah. 

When people think about war, they picture missiles and mushroom clouds.

But what if the greatest threats today are the ones most people never see coming?

Christine Wormuth, former U.S. Secretary of the Army and current leader of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, explains why some of today’s biggest dangers are quieter, harder to detect, and easier to unleash than most people realize.

Most people see the world as the U.S. vs. China.But the real power shift is happening elsewhere.

Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security and a former senior advisor at the National Security Council and the U.S. State Department, shows which countries are quietly shaping the next world order - and why the biggest power shifts are happening far from the spotlight.

Inflation, interest rates, AI, tariffs, the dollar…

Most people treat them as separate stories but actually, they’re not.

Former Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jason Furman explains how these forces are all connected - and why most people are missing the bigger picture.

What’s really driving inflation, why the dollar’s power may be slipping, and why the biggest risk isn’t what most people are watching.

A conversation about the hidden forces shaping the economy - and what comes next.

Dr. Tom Mihaljevic, CEO of Cleveland Clinic and a leading heart surgeon, explains how medicine is already changing in ways most people don’t see.

He has spent his career performing complex heart surgeries and now leads one of the world’s top hospitals.

A conversation about what’s changing in care and what it means for patients right now.

Iran briefly showed it could choke off a waterway carrying nearly a fifth of the world’s oil.

That’s the visible threat.

The real risk may be something else entirely.

Former Deputy National Security Advisor and U.S. Special Representative to Iran Elliott Abrams breaks down where Iran's strategy backfired, whether those in power in Tehran can hold on, and why the most dangerous consequence could outlast the war itself.

He is senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Exciting news!

We’ve been nominated for a Webby Award — one of the top honors for podcasts.  

If you enjoy the show, you can vote for 3 Takeaways here: (Just takes a minute - sign in with Apple or Google, no need to provide your email)   https://wbby.co/57427N

(Voting ends tomorrow)

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We’re entering a world where life itself could become programmable.

What if creating new forms of life becomes as simple as writing code? 

Geneticist Adrian Woolfson explains how close we are — and why the consequences could be extraordinary.

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Exciting news!

We’ve been nominated for a Webby Award—one of the top honors in podcasts.  

If you enjoy the show, you can vote for 3 Takeaways here: (Just takes a minute - sign in with Apple, no need to provide your email)  https://wbby.co/57427N

(Voting ends April 16)

Thank you!

Is the war with Iran actually a turning point for the Middle East?

Dan Kurtzer - former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt, advisor to presidents, peace negotiator and Princeton professor - has seen these moments up close, when expectations surge - and the outcome looks nothing like the promise.

His unfiltered take on Iran - and what actually changes after a war like this.

--------------------------

Exciting news!

We’ve been nominated for a Webby Award—one of the top honors in podcasts.  

If you enjoy the show, you can vote for 3 Takeaways here: (Just takes a minute - sign in with Apple, no need to provide your email)   https://wbby.co/57427N

(Voting ends April 16)

Thank you!

Love him or hate him, Elon Musk has upended entire industries - from cars to rockets - by doing things differently.

Jon McNeill, former president of Tesla, reveals the thinking behind Tesla and SpaceX that drives radical innovation - and shows how anyone can apply it.

He also offers a rare glimpse into how Elon Musk operates close up. 

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Exciting news!

We’ve been nominated for a Webby Award—one of the top honors in podcasts.  

If you enjoy the show, you can vote for 3 Takeaways: (Just takes a minute - sign in with Apple, no need to provide your email) 👉 https://wbby.co/57427N

(Voting ends April 16)

Thank you!

A few paragraphs from Washington once stopped oil tankers in their tracks halfway around the world - no navy, no missiles. 

Eddie Fishman, who helped design and implement U.S. sanctions and economic warfare policies, explains how these quiet battles shape global power. 

If countries can inflict real damage without firing a shot, what does power look like in this new kind of war - and how vulnerable are we?