Don Kurz has lived enough lives for three careers - from championship lacrosse fields to Studio 54 dance floors to Wall Street trading desks to the boardrooms of modern advertising - and in this candid conversation with Michael Kassan, he reflects on the chaos, reinvention, and hard-earned instincts that shaped them all. With the release of his new book, Do the Hustle, Don opens up about resilience, risk, leadership, and why the most valuable lessons rarely come from the wins, but from the moments when everything veers off script.

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Music is no longer just something we listen to... it’s something we interpret, share, and use to make sense of the world around us. In this episode, Michael Kassan sits down with Jackie Vignone, CRO of Genius, to explore how the platform has evolved from a lyrics destination into a powerful meeting point for artists, fans, and brands. Together, they unpack what music reveals about culture, why context now carries as much weight as content, and how the relationship between artists and audiences is evolving in a more participatory world.

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Christian Muche has built his career on a contrarian instinct: when the world pulls back, he builds opportunities that bring people together. From co-founding DMEXCO during the 2008 financial crisis to launching POSSIBLE in the middle of COVID, Christian has consistently bet on one idea: real progress happens when the right people are in the same room.

In this episode, he joins Michael Kassan to unpack the limitations of the traditional conference model, why scale is no longer the defining metric of success, and how curated connections, not crowded stages, drive business forward. They explore what makes POSSIBLE different, the growing complexity of the marketing ecosystem, and why in a world of AI, remote work, and constant digital noise, showing up in person may be more valuable than ever. At the center of it all is a simple idea: “POSSIBLE” It is so much more than the name of an event, it’s a mindset. One that reframes complexity as opportunity and focuses the industry on what can be built, together.

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What if the most powerful growth strategy isn’t another ad, but a simple “thank you”? Nift Founder and CEO, Elery Pfeffer, joins Michael Kassan to unpack why gratitude may be the most overlooked engine in modern commerce, how AI can create meaningful discovery instead of digital noise, and why the brands that recognize customers as people (not just wallets) will win the future.

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Serge Matta, President of Global Ad Sales at LG Ad Solutions, is turning the TV from a passive box in the corner into the most valuable real estate in media - an interactive command center where content, data, and commerce meet in real time. In this episode, he joins Michael Kassan to talk candidly about making connected TV accountable to real business results, why independent measurement and true partnerships matter, how smarter TV operating systems could reshape how we shop and watch, and the same grounded values that drive his philanthropy off-screen.

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Childhood friends turned Cognitiv co-founders, Jeremy Fain and Dr. Aaron Andalman, went from zebrafish brains and ad-tech trenches to rewiring how brands predict human behavior in an AI-saturated marketplace. Together, they draw a sharp line between predictive and generative AI, show what first-party data can really do, and demystify context and “agents” so marketers can push performance further without losing the plot ... or their customers’ trust.

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Lynnwood Bibbens isn’t chasing viewers; he’s owning the traveler. While most brands struggle to capture this high-intent audience, he built ReachTV around winning that moment. From “dreaming-only” sessions that reshaped the company to rewiring the travel ecosystem with live sports, precision data, and relentless service, he lays out his entrepreneur’s code: bet on what others ignore, turn relationships into resilience when everything’s on the line, and stay fiercely disciplined about what matters.

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Tom Freston turned a bohemian streak, entrepreneurial hustle, and serious wanderlust into one of the most consequential runs in modern media. He co-founded MTV, busted through gatekeepers with an original DTC playbook, and built a creative-first house of brands that reshaped music, fashion, art, politics, and advertising. In this episode, the legendary architect of the MTV generation joins Michael to unpack losing it all and rebooting with a single self-help book, what it really takes to empower brilliant misfits and wield cultural power with humility, and what his journey from building a business in South Asia to steering a global media empire to helping fight extreme poverty reveals about balancing instinct, responsibility, and relentless curiosity in an age of disruption.

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Recorded at the 3CV Villa in the heart of CES 2026, this special episode curates standout insights from executives shaping how people watch, shop, pay, and belong. They unpack the biggest themes of CES, reflect on broader industry shifts, and share what they’re prioritizing as the year ahead takes shape.

Along the way, they share practical insights for marketers navigating a world where media, commerce, and community are increasingly connected. It’s a thoughtful look at where the market is moving, and how to stay ahead.

Featured Voices Include:

• Ali Miller, GM, Ad Products, Instacart
• Nili Klenoff, EVP, Mastercard Commerce Media
• Jeremi Gorman, Chief Revenue Officer, Fanatics
• Dan Robbins, Head of Growth & Strategy, PayPal
• Bethany Eppner, VP, Global Business Marketing, Fandom
• Jeff Lucas, Chief Revenue Officer, Tubi

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Ajit Mohan, Chief Business Officer at Snap, joins Michael Kassan to unpack how a “middle child” platform can outmaneuver giants by protecting sacred consumer spaces and betting on deeper connection over infinite scroll. From reimagining advertising inside messaging to challenging marketing leaders to confront inertia, Ajit shares a clear-eyed vision for building relevance, growth, and humanity in the next era of media.

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Entertainment industry veteran Charlie Collier joins Michael Kassan to unpack how Roku is transforming fragmentation into advantage – emerging as the modern “lead-in to all television,” proving interoperability beats walled gardens, and turning the home screen into a vibrant cultural canvas in its own right. Along the way, they dive into leadership philosophies, creative risk-taking, and the seismic shifts that will define who wins the next era of streaming.

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