Show Notes
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 Chicago. Plus the uncomfortable CTE question that won't go away: Is the sport actually safer or have fans been sold a story? Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
More from Masters of Scale
Few companies have as much influence over AI’s trajectory as OpenAI. Reid Hoffman sits down with CFO Sarah Friar to understand the precipice of the moment we are in and the decisions that could shape what comes next for each of us. This conversation was recorded live as part of Masters of Scale Summit on October 21, 2026, at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco. Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
REI has been around for 88 years. Mary Beth Laughton wants to make sure it’s around for 88 more. The CEO of America’s largest consumer co-op joins Rapid Response to talk about what it actually takes to revive an iconic business — without shareholders, without quarterly earnings calls, and with 26 million members who hold you to a higher standard than any Wall Street analyst ever could. She explains why her first act as CEO was to publicly break ties with a Trump cabinet secretary, and how the co-op structure gives REI a kind of clarity that most retailers can’t buy. Plus lessons drawn from Nike, Sephora, and Athleta on what it really means to lead a mission-driven brand when the values are battle tested, not just stated. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Rich Roll’s popular podcast recently passed 1,000 episodes. He sat down with host Jeff Berman to discuss his growing podcast network, why he’s ignoring the algorithm, and his tumultuous path from addiction to wellness and endurance athletics. Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Renee Wegrzyn spent her career building the future of American science — including ARPA-H, the White House agency created to accelerate health breakthroughs. Then the Trump administration showed her the door. Wegrzyn co-founded Transfyr to tackle what she calls one of the most overlooked issues in science: the magic hands problem. She joins Rapid Response to explain why fixing this unglamorous bottleneck is the prerequisite for everything AI promises to deliver in medicine, what the federal funding cuts are really costing science, and why she can feel the next Sputnik moment coming — even if she can’t quite name it yet. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Thibault “Tibo” Sottiaux is OpenAI’s head of Product & Platform, making him responsible for the AI tools used by more than a billion users worldwide. Rana el Kaliouby spoke with Tibo on Pioneers of AI about why he’s “proud” OpenAI delayed its latest Astra model over safety concerns, the new suite of agentic products released at DevDay, and what it’s like to lead inside a frontier AI company in this extraordinary moment in history. Learn more about Pioneers of AI: http://pioneersof.ai/ Follow Pioneers of AI on all channels: https://linktr.ee/pioneersofai See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.