Many in the wine world know Laura as the managing director at Bodega Catena Zapata in Argentina, which produces some of the world’s great wines. But for the last 25 years, she has also been an emergency room physician in San Francisco. When she and Cal get together, they come up with an idea to remove an aspect of health care that drives everyone crazy. Nobody likes waiting in the waiting room. But with a Waiting Room App, the entire experience could be transformed to help doctors and hospitals ...
Dec 15, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 153
Cal reflects on his time with one of America’s great tech visionaries shortly after Hsieh’s passing, marvels at all the good Tony was able to pass on to so many people and vows to keep his promise to Tony.
Dec 08, 2020•28 min•Ep. 152
At the beginning of 2020, on average, one physician in the United States was committing suicide every day. That was before the coronavirus struck. Cal talks with three doctors about the tensions physicians and other health care workers face in these crazy times. Then he talks with an entrepreneur who designed a way for us all to reach out to health care workers with messages to show our appreciation for all they do. Bottom line is: If we don’t care for those who care for us, who will care for us...
Dec 01, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 151
Roughly two years ago, Cal found out that his friend, Brooks Bell, had colon cancer. Brooks was in her thirties, the founder of a tech company bearing her own name, at the top of her career. Cal walked away from their conversation shaken. Which is why Cal is so happy to bring his most recent meeting with Brooks to Big Questions. Brooks has beaten the disease and tells us all how to prevent it. This conversation is a pure example of how being proactive can get the most out of our healthcare syste...
Nov 24, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 150
While many companies were furloughing and firing employees earlier this year when the coronavirus pandemic hit, Lendio went all in to help small businesses get loans. The company hired 250 people to join existing staff, and helped 120,000 businesses get $8 billion in government loans and save 1.2 million jobs over a 10-week period. Lendio CEO Brock Blake tells Cal the story, and Cal marvels at how a decision by one guy could help so many people keep their jobs and their health care in this diffi...
Nov 17, 2020•44 min•Ep. 149
A relaxing conversation after a tense election. Cal sits with the broadcaster and author of a new book about his experiences with Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, Mike Tyson and others. The book is called Talking to GOATs – as in “Greatest of All Time.” The core of the conversation goes to the power of honesty and questions in our culture. You’ll also learn what it feels like to step into the ring to interview Mike Tyson just after Tyson has been disqualified for biting...
Nov 10, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 148
Just as Cal is dipping his toes in the water on reshaping health care, Seth encourages him to dive in. The marketing guru uses the principles behind his new book about the power of creativity, The Practice , to point Cal toward the deep water in all the right directions. Years from now, when Cal looks back on this podcast, he’ll remember it as the time he decided to dedicate his life to learning about health care, understanding it and changing it for the better. He’ll always be grateful to Seth ...
Nov 03, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 147
In one of the most far-ranging conversations Cal has had on Big Questions, best-selling author Brad Meltzer talks about the upcoming presidential election, how he helped save the life of his high school English teacher and the importance of his latest book about Anne Frank. This conversation goes to some deep places and reminds us all of the impact a single life can make.
Oct 27, 2020•43 min•Ep. 146
The author of the book How to Lead details many of the traits and strategies used by Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Richard Branson and others to make a huge impact on society. Rubenstein also explains why quite often the student council president in 7th grade doesn’t go on to be a leader later in life. The late life leader often evolves into the position. All this gives Cal hope that he can use some of these tactics and tools on his latest adventure to make improvements in our health ca...
Oct 20, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 145
Ten years ago, a Rutgers University football player headed downfield on a kickoff to make a tackle like he’d done so many times before. Only this time, while making that hit, Eric LeGrand fractured his C3 and C4 vertebrae. He remained on the ground feeling like he couldn’t breathe, and paralyzed from the neck down. Doctors questioned whether he’d ever be able to breathe without the aid of a respirator for the rest of his life. The joy in his voice now is an inspiration to anybody going through d...
Oct 13, 2020•52 min•Ep. 144
Forty-seven years ago, Bruce Lee began to write out his philosophies in an article called In My Own Process. Sadly, he passed away before he could finish. His daughter Shannon, who was four years old at the time, took it on her shoulders to put those philosophies in a book. It’s called Be Water, My Friend, and when Cal began to read it he thought of the John Milton quote: “A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life upon life.” Listen ...
Oct 06, 2020•50 min•Ep. 143
The star of the HBO MAX series, Pursuit of Happiness, sits with Cal to talk about his around-the-world adventure to answer some deep questions. But as soon as the conversation gets going it veers to a sense of home, how to take care of beloved dogs as they near the end of their lives as well as how to see our parents and ourselves as we all age. This podcast will make you feel like you’re on a road trip with friends. Glad to have you along.
Sep 29, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 142
Cal continues on his quest to help transform our health care system by talking with the founder of HealthEquity, who explains to Cal how we can open health savings accounts that enable us to get lower insurance premiums, grow our savings and pay our health care bills tax free. But most importantly, this conversation shows us that by taking our health care into our own hands we, as a group, can accelerate changes that benefit us all.
Sep 22, 2020•59 min•Ep. 141
As a boy, Quan was pointed toward West Point by his father. After his father’s death, Quan’s life spiraled out of control as a teen, and he shot and killed a man in a gang-related incident. He received a prison sentence of 15 years to life, in a state that, at the time, did not parole prisoners with life sentences. How he changed in the 20 years since that shooting, and what he’s doing with his life now, will be an inspiration to all. Right now, his flourishing company is hiring and onboarding p...
Sep 15, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 140
Cal catches up with the man who was Executive Chef and Director of Windows on the World at the top of the World Trade Center during the time of 9/11 to reflect on that tragedy as well as the coronavirus pandemic. Now the owner and chef of Porter House in New York, Michael reveals the spirit and pragmatism we could all use in these times.
Sep 08, 2020•49 min•Ep. 139
Cal gets a lesson in how to bring an idea to life. The CEO and founder of MasterClass shows him how to use questions to research the way forward, and then how to act off that research. MasterClass now showcases experts as varied as director Martin Scorsese, actress Natalie Portman, guitarist Carlos Santana, tennis star Serena Williams, architect Frank Gehry and the list goes on and on. Check out how Rogier put it all together, and you are sure to have a treasure trove of takeaways to bring your ...
Sep 01, 2020•57 min•Ep. 138
Cal talks with the author of Let’s Talk About Death (Over Dinner) at just the right time – prior to watching his first funeral over Zoom. Cal’s questions about death, the coronavirus and our country’s health lead to a very unexpected place: a way of using Hebb’s thought-provoking conversations about death as a different kind of vaccine against COVID 19. These conversations could lead to a change in our thinking and our behavior, and actually protect us. Cal plans to listen to this back and forth...
Aug 25, 2020•59 min•Ep. 137
Cal sits with the President and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals to talk about healthcare in the time of the pandemic, and how the present moment will impact the future of YOUR healthcare. Chip has been called one of the 100 most powerful people in healthcare and after decades of experience in the area he knows everything that Cal wants to know. At a time when many people are being furloughed and fired from their jobs for no fault of their own and losing their health insurance, it’s i...
Aug 18, 2020•56 min•Ep. 136
At a time when we’re all wondering about the continued economic repercussions of the coronavirus, Cal looks into ways that we can all focus on money. His guest is Gregg Clunis, the host of the personal development podcast called Tiny Leaps, Big Changes. Gregg grew up in a home with little money, and has spent much of his life thinking about how to get the most out of it. The conversation offers thoughts to young people who are starting out and might not have much in the bank, as well as to peopl...
Aug 11, 2020•49 min•Ep. 135
Cal became curious about an intriguing character in the HBO documentary, The Weight of Gold, which addresses a culture of depression among American Olympians that has led to a series of suicides. So he immediately called Katie Uhlaender to find out what makes an Olympic life and how depression finds its way inside it. After competing in four Winter Olympics in the Skeleton event, and losing a medal to an opponent who was involved in a doping scandal, Katie finds herself in a position to be a voi...
Aug 04, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 134
Cal speaks with the director of the HBO documentary The Weight of Gold about the state of depression faced by many American Olympians, and the subsequent suicides. Swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever, narrates the doc and leaves you wondering how the support system might be transformed. It’s a good opening for you to think about how well your own health care set up takes care of you.
Jul 28, 2020•51 min•Ep. 133
The former Surgeon General explains to Cal how we might rethink our health care system. This is a wise conversation at a time of COVID 19 when millions of people are losing their insurance due to furloughs and layoffs. Dr. Murthy examines the feelings of loneliness affecting patients and physicians in our system, and gives us some hope that we’ll be able to do better. If you’re not looking closely at health care now, you just may be six months down the road. Start with Cal now.
Jul 21, 2020•57 min•Ep. 132
There is no better time to think about how to change, and there was no one who loved change more than former General Electric CEO Jack Welch. Cal remembers a day he spent with him shortly after Welsh retired and shows how Welsh’s words influenced him when it came time to pivot after The Great Recession, and again now in the time of Covid 19. Find out how this podcast might change YOU.
Jul 14, 2020•19 min•Ep. 131
No city may be more vulnerable to the coronavirus than Las Vegas. Every year it was inviting 42 million people in for dinner. The city’s economy is dependent on those visitors, and Cal looks at the history of Las Vegas for a clue as to how the city might reinvent itself after the virus subsides. Entrepreneur Tom Breitling, author of the book Double or Nothing, and some of his friends explain why they’re betting on a big Vegas comeback. This podcast offers lessons in reinvention and hints at why ...
Jul 07, 2020•33 min•Ep. 130
Cal talks with one of the greatest tennis players of all time about the attitude and strategies that can guide us all through the different stages of reinvention. There are few people on the planet more equipped to talk about this evolution than Maria, who left Russia at the age of six with her dad to come to America and play tennis. Her dad had roughly $700 when they arrived. Maria went on to the IMG Academy, and on to win Wimbledon at the age of 17. She won all the Grand Slam events before ret...
Jun 30, 2020•59 min•Ep. 129
After almost a half a year of being cooped up and inhaling news of the coronavirus, the killing of George Floyd by police and the subsequent anger, stress and uncertainty all over the world, Cal got an opportunity to get healthy in an unexpected way. The founders of Madefor reached out to him with a 10-month challenge to improve all aspects of his health and it all starts with… drinking more water. After only a couple of days, Cal felt so much better he was hooked. Blake Mycoskie, the founder of...
Jun 23, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 128
After watching the comic/sage talk about our national reality on his recently-released special called 8:46, Cal feels nudged to offer up his own thoughts on how we might move forward. Cal is certainly no comedian, but he does have a few stories to tell and some questions to meet the moment.
Jun 16, 2020•14 min•Ep. 127
Cal gets on the phone with the Brooklyn Borough President in the midst of the recent protests, rioting and looting to talk about the complexity of our national problem. Eric was given a racial beat down by police, who repeatedly kicked him in the groin when he was 15, and was later urged to make a change to the system by becoming a police officer himself. He served in the NYPD for 22 years, retiring at the rank of captain, and now is running for mayor of New York City. Eric sees our current land...
Jun 09, 2020•38 min•Ep. 126
Cal questions one of the world’s great pivoters. Jacqueline has turned an interview she bungled right off the bat when she graduated from college into a career that has influenced hundreds of millions of lives. That includes bringing food to those without funds in Los Angeles during the coronavirus and bringing solar energy to a hundred million people in Africa. As CEO of the entrepreneurial investment firm Acumen, Jacqueline has been named one of the Top 100 global thinkers by Foreign Policy, o...
Jun 02, 2020•44 min•Ep. 125
Cal gets a tutorial on how to pivot his business to the Internet from the president of The Montag Group, an agency famous for representing America’s finest broadcasters. Steve is an expert at analyzing communication skills, as he proves in his forthcoming book called Don’t Take Yes For An Answer. The idea behind the book is to go beyond the positive canned responses we tend to get and look deeply at the details of how we communicate. This episode is packed with takeaways that can improve anyone’...
May 26, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 124
