Big Questions With Cal Fussman

Some of Cal’s favorite conversations have come after a friend of his has started a sentence with these four words: “You’ve got to meet . . .” The trust behind an introduction like that always leads to special moments. And this week’s episode is no exception. Cal’s friend Monique Mardinian set up a meeting with Sabaa Quao, the Chief Creative Officer at Cossette, Canada’s largest marketing and communications company. Sabaa has also co-founded Filminute, the festival known around the world for being limited to films that are only 60 seconds long. This conversation shows the power in a single minute of content. It also looks into the question of how we’re going to trust in a time of artificial intelligence when we can no longer be sure if what we see and hear is real. You can be sure of one thing: This conversation is as real as it gets.

Cal replays one of the most amazing conversations he’s ever had -- with a man who was in the bathroom on the 81 st Floor of the World Trade Center before starting work on the morning of 9/11/2001 when the hijacked plane hit. Michael Wright, a 30-year-old account executive at the time, got down to the ground only to look up and see the other tower falling on his head. Cal listens to the story every year to never forget the day and to focus on the power of resilience. But also for another reason this year – to remember how connected the United States was right after 9/11. The most connected Cal had ever seen it. Please send this conversation to one person you think might appreciate it.

Cal continues a summer of storytelling by passing on one about a player you might like to root for in this year’s U.S. Open. The backstory of Taylor Townsend shows us how there are winds in life that hold us back and winds that push us forward. And the value of perseverance in between.

Cal gets an unexpected e-mail asking about the feeling behind making a deep connection. It compels him to think back through a career of experiences with Muhammad Ali and Mikhael Gorbachev, bonds with people who took him in when he traveled around the world, friendships, and even ties with people who connected with his words and voice without ever having met him. But now, in a digital world where people can get a thousand likes while having no real friends, he finds great purpose giving workshops that connect others so they can get the most out of one another.

The change in the opening kickoff of National Football League games may seem inconsequential when compared to other developments in the world. As Cal wonders about the emotion and spirit that will be lost from the game, he realizes that the way he’s reacting to the new rule is a metaphor for the way many of us see change. It’s worth thinking about for a moment at a time when artificial intelligence is becoming the biggest change humanity has ever seen.

The Hall of Fame drummer looks back at the band’s iconic performance at Woodstock in 1969 when Carlos Santana dropped some LSD shortly before being summoned to go on stage. Michael had ingested mescaline. Carlos believed his guitar turned into a snake during the rendition of Soul Sacrifice and at the same time Michael was transported to heaven. Video that captured the group’s dynamic is a living testament to human connection with music. It also makes us consider the place of the latest landmark in music: artificial intelligence.

Cal finds out lots of things he never knew about someone he thought he knew . . . at that person’s funeral. It got him to think about how well we know each other, and how well we connect . . . which sparked him to figure out a way that will enable you to connect better. This short podcast could change your life.

Cal looks at the word inclusion through the controversy at the Olympics opening ceremony last week. And what a diverse message really looks like through the most exciting race he ever saw – one that was won by three hundredths of a second at the Olympics more than 50 years ago. The lessons in those two experiences give us all something to think about.

Cal describes how listener reaction to last week’s podcast about the attempted assassination on Donald Trump influenced his decision to speak out on Big Questions and tell the world what he’s learned through his meetings with the people who’ve shaped the last 75 years of world history. The timing of his recording of this week’s message on the upcoming election is an eerie confirmation that it’s the right way to go.

Cal looks at the attempt on the former president’s life in a way that you won’t find anywhere else. This podcast is not red vs. blue. It’s not political. Cal’s childhood in the 1960s was run through a montage of assassinations – from John F. Kennedy to Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. And he believes that it’s hard to sustain a democracy when people are shot and killed while they are in office or before they can be elected. We are living in a very disconnected time. After spending his entire life connecting through conversation, Cal becomes even more committed to trying to bring people together.

Cal continues his journey into the world of artificial intelligence when he talks with the SEO guru. The Big Question is how the AI digital content now inundating the internet measures up against content that has authentic human connection at its essence. Be prepared to be surprised.

Cal talks with the futurist who tells us that artificial intelligence is going to be embedded in everything we do -- and that means many aspects of the world around us will be moving at an accelerated pace. His book, Superconvergence, looks at how AI will transform our lives as it is embedded in genetics and biotech. It could mean living longer, feeding billions and supercharging the economy. We don’t want to think about the downside – which is why we must. Jamie’s got a Ph.D. from Oxford, a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and he was the opening speaker at the 2023 Dubai future forum. He’s also an ironman triathlete in his spare time. When Cal left the conversation, he felt like his IQ had spiked. You may feel the same.

In his quest to go deep into artificial intelligence, Cal comes across a most unusual guest. Theresa Fesinstine speaks to AI in a most uncommon way – as if it were human. Almost as if she were a really good high school English teacher talking to her students in the most caring way. There’s research that says this kind of approach gets the best out of AI. Listen up, and try it out.

The son of self-help guru Tony Robbins has become a coach with clients in 133 countries around the world. You’ll see why when you listen to this conversation. You will definitely be in a better place to navigate your path after listening to this podcast!

Chessboxing? What? Do the competitors pound each other in the head as they move pieces on the chessboard? It’s actually a sport that is going to be on display at the Olympics in Paris this summer. It’s not an official Olympic event. Yet. But three hundred thousand people stream events and it’s only getting bigger and bigger. What does it mean for you? Listen to Matt Thomas’s story.

Cal realizes that for the first time he is not feeling behind in technology because he has thrown himself into understanding AI. Conversations with experts on this podcast have made him feel more comfortable with what’s coming – even if we don’t know exactly what that is. This is the conversation that opened the door for him. It’s with Linus Eckenstam – a designer in Barcelona who makes web forms a little more human. Cal hopes this episode will make everyone more comfortable feel a little more authentic in the age of AI.

When Cal went on Ben’s podcast, the marketer confided to him that he was supposed to host a party that evening to bring people who didn’t know each other together. Ben is the curator of the Real Business Connection Network. So the meeting was important to him. The problem was, Ben had a case of gout that was sending stabbing pains through one of his toes. Ben asked Cal if he should go through with the party or call it off. Cal advised Ben that if he threw himself into the party, he’d forget the pain. Ben followed through. This conversation looks at the way Ben used structure and games to connect people. And how much the world has changed since Cal traveled around the world for ten years without a home meeting people through serendipity.

Cal talks with the co-founder and former CEO of Whole Foods about the journey he took from shirtless 22-year-old hippie hitchhiking in Austin on acid to creating and running the health food empire. And what a wild trip it’s been – as evidenced in his new book: The Whole Story, Adventures in Love, Life and Capitalism. Plenty of takeaways for all of us in this conversation – especially on artificial intelligence.

Cal converses with the author of The Skill Code: How To Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines, and learns how experts in their fields are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence instead of junior helpers for assistance. This threatens the bond between the experts and novices that has long allowed the novices to slowly become experts. Cal offers Matt plenty of challenges as examples from his own life and when matt hears them he feels that a chunk of his book was written with Cal in mind. But this book is about and for EVERYONE.

Cal gets social media strategies from the Podcast Princess, who grew a team of unpaid interns into her own highly successful agency – YAP (Young and Profiting). Her advice gives Cal the awareness of how to turn a technological problem into an area of creativity that could ultimately be a financial gamechanger. Hala believes that life is 0 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it. Everybody who listens to this conversation will come away with ideas on getting the most out of themselves.