- 1 hour 2 minutesWe're Still Thinking About This Conversation with Will Guidara
In September 2023, Will Guidara told us the story of how he used two words to turn a middling brasserie into the best restaurant in the world. Those two words? Unreasonable hospitality.
We're running that episode again today because, well, it's one of our all-time favorites. And because Will is coming back on the show on Monday to discuss his brand-new book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide. Consider this the appetizer.
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30 April 2026, 9:00 am - 40 minutes 24 secondsHere’s Our Favorite Book of the Season
Every few months, we pick one book with the power to change how you see the world. Then we build an experience around it: author conversations, reading guides, key insights, and a community of people who love talking about ideas. In this episode, we reveal our latest pick. And stick around for a sneak peek of Rufus's conversation with the author.
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27 April 2026, 9:00 am - 1 hour 21 minutes“Beliefs Are Tools, Not Truths”
What's standing between you and your goals? Focus? Discipline? Motivation? Nir Eyal points the finger somewhere else. Your beliefs. In his new book, Beyond Belief, he shows you how to trade them in for better ones — and finally get unstuck.
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Check out Nir’s previous appearance on the show here.
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23 April 2026, 9:00 am - 1 hour 21 minutesThe History and Future of Apple
In celebration of Apple's 50th birthday, we're probing the company's past and peering into its future with David Pogue — former New York Times tech columnist, current CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, and author of the recent New York Times bestseller Apple: The First 50 Years. We begin by looking backward, exploring the improbable story of the hippie pranksters who built the world's first trillion-dollar company. But we're not just here for the history. We also look ahead, asking: What cool new tech are they cooking up in Cupertino? Why has Apple been so slow on AI, and does the company have a plan to catch up? And who's the frontrunner to succeed Tim Cook?
The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off).
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20 April 2026, 9:00 am - 1 hour 1 minuteBest Of: Tony Fadell’s Guide to Building Products, Startups and Careers
Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone, and Nest Thermostat. In his book Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making, he shares everything he’s learned about building great companies and game-changing products.
(This episode first aired in September 2022.)
The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off).
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16 April 2026, 9:00 am - 1 hour 13 minutesDemis Hassabis Wants to Build AGI. Should We Trust Him?
When journalist Sebastian Mallaby approached Demis Hassabis, Google's AI chief and a man with a lifelong mission to build superintelligence, about writing his biography, he made the following pitch: "If you're going to disrupt people from head to toe, you owe them an explanation of why you're doing it. What motivates you? Why do something this dangerous?" Today, Sebastian tells us what answers he found.
Sebastian's new book, The Infinity Machine, is out now. Pick up a copy from Amazon, Audible, or Bookshop.org.
The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off).
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13 April 2026, 9:00 am - 58 minutes 18 secondsPatrick Radden Keefe on a Double Life, a Gilded City and a Mysterious Death
In 2023, Patrick Radden Keefe met a man who told him, "I might have a story for you." When you're Patrick — New Yorker staff writer, author of "some of the most memorable nonfiction books of the last decade" (that's the New York Times talking) — this is a hazard of the trade. But he heard the guy out.
The guy said he knew a family whose 19-year-old son had died in mysterious circumstances. "He went off the balcony of a luxury apartment building overlooking the Thames." When the boy's parents started looking into it, they made an astonishing discovery: Their son — a nice, upper-middle-class Londoner — had been running around the city posing as the son of a Russian oligarch.
"This guy said only about that much," Patrick tells us in today's episode, "and I knew if the family would talk to me, this was my next thing." His new book is London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth.
The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off).
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9 April 2026, 9:00 am - 48 minutes 2 secondsHow to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay
It’s a big, bad, scary, lonely world out there. Lucky for us, Jenny Lawson — aka the Bloggess — has collected more than a hundred tricks and tools that have helped her keep going, and she shares them in her heartwarming and hilarious new book, How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay.
The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out Arthur’s previous appearances on the show here and here.
Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off).
Sponsored By:
Fabric — Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family at meetfabric.com/nbi
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6 April 2026, 9:00 am - 1 hour 11 minutesBest Of: The New Science of Improving Your Memory
The French filmmaker Jean Renoir said, "The only things that are important in life are the things you remember." But what do you remember and why? That's the subject of Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters by pioneering neuroscientist Charan Ranganath. He explains why you still know the lyrics to the song you loved in eighth grade but can't remember the name of your kid's eighth-grade teacher, how memory shapes your identity, and what you can do right now to improve your recall. (This episode first aired in April 2024.)
The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off).
Sponsored By:
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2 April 2026, 9:00 am - 1 hour 2 minutesHow to Find the Meaning of Your Life (with Arthur C. Brooks)
Let's face it, modern life is kind of a bummer. We're glued to our phones, starved for meaning, haunted by a gnawing sense of emptiness. Enter Arthur C. Brooks. He's a Harvard professor, happiness expert, and a man with a plan to help you find your why and build a life that actually fills you up.
Arthur’s new book is The Meaning of Your Life. Learn more at https://www.arthurbrooks.com/the-meaning-of-your-life
The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out Arthur’s previous appearances on the show here and here.
Follow Rufus on LinkedIn, subscribe to our Substack, or send us an email at [email protected].
The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off).
Sponsored By:
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30 March 2026, 9:00 am - 1 hour 11 minutesThe Surprising Power of Oversharing
We’ve been told that “oversharing” (TMI) is a social sin. But our guest today, Leslie John, who teaches at Harvard Business School, argues that TLI (Too Little Information) is far more dangerous. In her new book, Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing, she shows how personal, vulnerable, even uncomfortable disclosures are the wellspring of trust, friendship, romance, and professional success.
Watch The Next Big Idea on YouTube! You can find our episodes here.
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