The Year A Genius Couldn't Keep Up

The Year A Genius Couldn't Keep Up

Author: Curiosity Media December 30, 2025 Duration: 9:33

Imagine a mind that can solve a Rubik's Cube in 17 seconds. A mind that contributed to the development of OpenAI. A mind that directed AI for Elon Musk at Tesla. A mind named one of Time Magazine's Top 100 in artificial intelligence. Now imagine that same mind encountering recent, almost "alien" advances in programming—so startling they prompted a public admission: "I have never felt so behind." If someone like that can't keep up, what does it mean for the rest of us? We're entering a world we may not soon recognize. For Cal, that realization leads to a simple conclusion: This New Year isn't about racing machines—it's about reclaiming what they can't replace.


For decades, Cal Fussman has built a remarkable career by asking the right things at the right time, drawing profound insights from icons like Muhammad Ali, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Serena Williams. That same genuine curiosity drives every episode of Big Questions with Cal Fussman. This isn't about quick soundbites or surface-level chatter. Instead, Cal creates a space where guests-from visionary CEOs and legendary coaches to groundbreaking artists-feel comfortable exploring the pivotal moments and hard-earned lessons that truly shaped their paths. You'll hear conversations that meander into unexpected places, often uncovering the personal philosophies and resilient mindsets behind public success. Produced by Curiosity Media, the podcast serves as a masterclass in listening and human connection, relevant for anyone interested in the intersections of business, creative careers, and lifelong education. Each discussion feels like a deep dive into a life fully examined, offering tangible wisdom for navigating your own big questions.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Big Questions with Cal Fussman
Podcast Episodes
Something Big Is Happening [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:37
As the world worked on last week, something exploded online. An article about AI by Matt Shumer was posted on X. It has already been downloaded more than 80 million times. The title? Something Big Is Happening. The impli…
Mike Tyson's Most Unexpected Knockout [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:04
Fifteen of the 66 Super Bowl ads this year featured artificial intelligence. Then Mike Tyson appeared on screen. . .and ate an apple. No algorithms. No spectacle. Just a former heavyweight champion telling America to sto…
Getting To The Top Of The World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:09
What does it really take to reach your peak? The answer lies in the Netflix documentary Skyscraper Live, as climbing legend Alex Honnold scales Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan, one move at a time. Watching him…
Weathermen & The Storms [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:00
Larry King used to tell me: "Nobody loves a hurricane like the weatherman." I learned exactly what he meant during the last winter storm — when the forecast was certain… and reality had other plans. It's why I've stopped…
Walking With The Monks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:21
A brief encounter with Buddhist monks on their walk for peace from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., leads Cal to wonder what Martin Luther King Jr. might have thought if he'd seen the large crowd of Americans gathered in…
An 18 Year Old Just Showed Us The Future [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:32
A high school student named Matteo Paz uses old NASA data and new AI to find 1.5 million objects never noticed before in space (including planets in other solar systems). AI can now predict 130 diseases (including heart…
Play It Forward | 2026 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:13
In the age of artificial intelligence, it isn't a machine that stops Cal in his tracks—it's a deeply human idea. What if playing a video game could help fight cancer? Thanks to Travis Jennings and a small group of friend…
The First Job – After AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:13
When Cal visits an old mentor, he's struck by two realizations. First: Some of the most profound moments in a young person's life can happen in entry-level jobs, when the right person takes you in, opens a door, and poin…
The AI Argument: 2026 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:08
There are those believe artificial intelligence will cure cancer, reverse global warming, and unlock human potential. There are others who believe it will end everything we know. For the first time in history, both sides…
Cal Finds His Destiny [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:18
When Cal returns to Tampa's Ybor City to speak, he keeps a ritual that's become almost sacred: a meal at the legendary 120-year-old Columbia Restaurant, followed by a quiet moment of thanks to the man who first sent him…