The Week: When AI Escapes, and Wars Don't End

Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans argue that finding your one true purpose is the wrong goal.  Recorded live at Odoo Experience in San Francisco, they join Scott Galloway to discuss why “follow your passion” is often bad advice, whether your job needs to provide both money and meaning, and how small experiments can help you move forward when you feel stuck. Scott also opens up about sending his son to college—and what happens when the role that gave your life purpose begins to change. Their latest book, How to Live a Meaningful Life, is out now.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In part one of a two-part Office Hours special on relationships, Scott Galloway is joined by divorce attorney James Sexton to break down the subtle signals that predict divorce, why fairness and desire pull in opposite directions, and the red flags people talk themselves out of. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [email protected], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Plus, you can now call or text Scott a question at our new Office Hours hotline: ‪(201) 472-3656‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alice Han and James Kynge look ahead to Trump and Xi's September 24 meeting in Washington, set against a busy stretch of Xi diplomacy, from the SCO summit to a first-ever trip to India, plus talk of a possible Trump-Putin-Xi trilateral in November. They dig into how trade, rare earths, and soybean purchases are shifting the leverage between the two powers, and whether the fight over AI dominance deserves more attention than the trade deficit. Then: Ruby Wang, author of China Cure: The Rise of a Biotech, AI Medicine and Global Health Superpower, joins to unpack China's rapid rise in pharmaceuticals — from faster, cheaper clinical trials to a wave of global licensing deals now worth tens of billions of dollars. She explains what changed since China was a clear follower in the market as recently as 2010, and what it means for U.S. pharma competitiveness. Subscribe to China Decode on Substack for weekly analysis, livestreams, and deep dives into the biggest story shaping the global economy: chinadecode.profgmedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As read by George Hahn. https://open.substack.com/pub/profgmedia/p/little-tobacco-moment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Hahn connects the dots across the week's biggest stories: why neither side can afford to stop the war with Iran, what Dan Driscoll's resignation says about military readiness, and how 700 OpenAI agents escaped their sandbox while another model saved a thousand lives. Plus, Scott discusses the kind of wealth that doesn't show up in a bank account. We’d love your feedback as we build this show! Let us know what you think: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Galloway speaks with journalist and author Josh Tyrangiel about how AI is already saving lives, modernizing government, and transforming warfare – and why its most important applications look nothing like the revolution Silicon Valley promised. They also discuss China’s strategy to undercut American AI companies, the coming disruption to white-collar work, and whether relying on AI could hollow out the next generation’s ability to think for themselves. His latest book, AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter, is out now.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're revisiting some of our favorite listener questions about relationships. Scott Galloway explains why he stopped keeping score in his relationship with his father, advises a listener torn between city living and aging parents, and reflects on how friendships change as money and fame grow. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [email protected], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Plus, you can now call or text Scott a question at our new Office Hours hotline: ‪(201) 472-3656‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alice Han and James Kynge start with the global AI race after an OpenAI system reportedly broke free and hacked into Hugging Face — a mess that pushed Hugging Face toward Chinese firm Z.ai's open-source model, and gave Z.ai an opening to argue China's open-weight approach is the safer one. They dig into a suspected Chinese bot farm quietly fueling U.S. opposition to AI data centers, Bill Gates's push for a sit-down with Xi on AI risk, and striking new polling on just how differently Chinese and American publics feel about trusting AI. Then: as U.S.-Canada trade talks collapse into a new round of tariffs, Alice and James ask who really benefits — and make the case that every dollar the U.S. and Canada spend fighting each other over autos is a dollar of market share flowing to Chinese manufacturers. Plus, how China is quietly benefiting from continuing to buy the vast majority of Iran's oil exports even as Washington threatens new sanctions. Finally: a devastating glacier collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border has triggered catastrophic flooding, with the death toll climbing past 600 and thousands still missing across both countries. Alice and James look at China's response so far — and the new hazard that's already emerged downstream. Subscribe to China Decode on Substack for weekly analysis, livestreams, and deep dives into the biggest story shaping the global economy: chinadecode.profgmedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we're revisiting our favorite listener questions about work and career. Scott Galloway explains how to get hired again after a layoff in your 50s, what he'd do differently starting his own career, and how to think about stock options in a first job offer. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [email protected], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Plus, you can now call or text Scott a question at our new Office Hours hotline: ‪(201) 472-3656‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alice Han and James Kynge start in Taipei, where the government has approved a record $35 billion defense budget for 2027 — an 18.2% jump — coming right on the heels of this year's Han Kuang drills, which mobilized nearly 22,000 reservists and adopted U.S.-style command tactics for the first time. They dig into what it means for Taiwan's military readiness, and whether this is more about deterring China or convincing Washington. Then: Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan — once China's richest man — has been sentenced to life in prison for financial fraud on a staggering scale, closing the book on the world's largest corporate liquidation tied to the property sector. Alice and James ask whether the sentencing does anything to fix China's still-struggling housing market. Finally: China's humanoid robot industry is booming — Chinese vendors account for 97% of global shipments — but who's actually buying them, and how much of the demand is real versus a "circular financing" loop that inflates the numbers? Subscribe to China Decode on Substack for weekly analysis, livestreams, and deep dives into the biggest story shaping the global economy: chinadecode.profgmedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices