While digital live shopping has been popular for years in Asia, the phenomenon has only recently begun to take off in the U.S., thanks in large part to the rise of retail disruptor Whatnot. The platform’s co-founder and CEO, Grant LaFontaine, joins Rapid Response to share how his team has managed to evoke the feel of in-person shopping inside an online experience, why he weighs “fun” versus FOMO as a customer-engagement tool, and how Whatnot’s breakthrough is influencing other retailers and brands. LaFontaine also digs into the startup’s response to deep-pocketed rivals like eBay, and why he believes the viral Labubu trend is here to stay.

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This Thursday marks the 99th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Macy’s Inc. chairman and CEO Tony Spring joins Rapid Response with a behind-the-scenes preview of what to expect. It’s been a tumultuous year for the legacy retailer, shaped by new tariffs, shifting consumer habits, and the constant flip between “wartime” and “peacetime” leadership. Spring shares why his team is now on “version twenty-seven of the plan,” how Macy’s is entering the AI era, and what it really means to court the next generation of shoppers while staying grounded in “balance, not hype.”

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What does it mean to be a courageous leader in 2025? Former U.S. General Stanley McChrystal joins futurist and culture critic Baratunde Thurston on stage at Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco to discuss the responsibility of leaders today, the importance of character, and the weight of being an active citizen in democracy. Considering President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard, McChrystal explores the role of the military in civil society, and how the military is poised to evolve in the wake of AI.

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In recent weeks, OpenAI faced seven lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT contributed to suicides or mental health breakdowns. To spotlight the controversial relationship between AI and mental health, host Bob Safian is joined on stage at Innovation@Brown Showcase by Brown University's Ellie Pavlick, director of a new institute dedicated to exploring AI and mental health, and Soraya Darabi of VC firm TMV, an early investor in mental health AI startups. Pavlick and Darabi weigh the pros and cons of applying AI to emotional well-being, from chatbot therapy to AI friends and romantic partners.

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As Sesame Street’s 56th season gets underway, Elmo, Big Bird, and the Sesame organization are navigating a volatile chapter in the show’s history — marked by government funding cuts, evolving new media habits, and AI’s impact on education. Sesame Workshop’s CEO Sherrie Westin joins Rapid Response to discuss balancing risk-taking with brand trust, partnering with Netflix and with Google, and why emotional well-being and kindness are the skills that matter most in today's world.

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Reid Hoffman, Stacy Brown-Philpot, and  Aileen Lee are three of the most successful, legendary leaders and investors in Silicon Valley. (The term “unicorn” for a startup valued at a billion dollars? Well, Aileen coined that.) This power trio sat down with journalist Van Jones live onstage at the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit, October 8 in San Francisco, to share candid snapshots of the investor’s mindset during this time of rapid change. Learn why VCs have dramatically shifted the way they invest in entrepreneurs this year, how companies can stand out in the crowded AI space, their personal green lights or red flags, and how players on all sides can adapt.

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After a decade in development, legendary documentarian Ken Burns is set to release his long-awaited series, The American Revolution. Burns returns to Rapid Response to share key lessons from the founding of the United States—and the parallels between the revolutionary era and today. He also reflects on his admiration for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, the obstacles he faces in his ongoing quest for truth, and why the pursuit of virtue is as essential to American democracy as the pursuit of happiness.

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In a special episode of Rapid Response, we feature two fast-paced, lively conversations from Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco. Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder breaks down branding and marketing lessons from the most high-profile campaigns of 2025. Treseder shares her unvarnished read on Sydney Sweeney, Cracker Barrel, Taylor Swift, and more. In the second half of the episode, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen assesses the five biggest myths around trade and tariffs today, advises about avoiding jail, and what he calls "dumb competition."

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