The Cusp with Paul Fain

The Cusp with Paul Fain

The Cusp is a new Work Shift podcast about AI’s impacts on education and work. Hosted by veteran journalist Paul Fain, The Cusp will feature interviews with decision makers and innovators at the forefront of how new technologies are changing the ways we learn and work.

Episodes

How to Build a Workforce Agenda for the AI Economy | Brooke DeRenzis | National Skills Coalition

October 1, 2026 • 52 mins
Brooke DeRenzis from the National Skills Coalition talks with Paul Fain about how to build a workforce agenda for the AI economy. The National Skills Coalition is a nonprofit organization that advocates for inclusive, high-quality skills training. DeRenzis is the group’s DC-based CEO. She shares how the US can leverage bipartisan concern about AI’s impacts to improve on decades of unfinished workforce policy. Chapters...
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How the US Should Be Preparing for AI-Driven Job Replacement | Mei Fong and Brittany Brown | Windfall Trust

October 1, 2026 • 52 mins
Brittany Brown and Mei Fong from Windfall Trust talk with Paul Fain about how the U.S. should be preparing for AI-driven job displacement. Windfall Trust is a policy research organization that runs scenario planning exercises to help governments and institutions prepare for AI—comparing the potential economic disruption to a natural disaster. Brown worked at the White House and the Pentagon during four presidential administr...
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The Cusp Season 2 Trailer

September 30, 2026 • 1 min
A new season of Work Shift’s podcast returns this week, tackling some of today’s most defining questions, including: How do we prepare for AI-driven job displacement? Hosted by Paul Fain, the new season will bring in experts and leaders in the industry to dig into worker retraining as part of the solution, what the latest data tells us about how AI is reshaping the labor market, and more. Subscribe to The Cusp for mor...
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Embracing AI: Tal Goldhamer on the Future of Work and Education

June 11, 2025 • 39 mins
In the latest episode of The Cusp, host Paul Fain talks with Tal Goldhamer, a former partner and chief learning officer at Ernst & Young. Goldhamer has an interesting take on how to think about AI, and has had a ringside seat on the technology's adoption in the workforce. Since leaving EY last year, Goldhamer has been advising businesses and colleges on how to get the most out of AI. Subscr...
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AI and Online Education, with Greg Hart, Coursera's CEO

April 30, 2025 • 30 mins
In the latest episode of The Cusp, host Paul Fain talks with Greg Hart, the president and CEO of Coursera, which is one of the world's largest online learning platforms. Hart previously was the longtime technical advisor to Jeff Bezos, among other high-level roles at Amazon. He talks about Coursera's global perspective on the demand for AI-related skills, and how the technology is reshaping jobs.Subscribe t...
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The Commerce Department's $2.9B Investment in Workforce Development, with Rachel Lipson from CHIPS for America

January 15, 2025 • 31 mins
Welcome to Season 2 of The Cusp. In this episode, host Paul Fain talks with Rachel Lipson, a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce and the co-founder of Harvard's Project on Workforce. Rachel describes the ambition of the department's strategy on regional competitiveness, which combines workforce development with economic development while seeking to forge lasting partnerships between employer...
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The Cusp Highlights from Season 1

December 30, 2024 • 11 mins
Host Paul Fain introduces a quick run through of soundbites from the 15 guests who helped power the inaugural season of The Cusp brought to you by Work Shift. Special thanks to all of our guests, listeners, and supporters for a fantastic first season in 2024. Be on the lookout for more from us as Season 2 kicks off in 2025.
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A Philanthropic Take on AI and Education with Ron Smith and Ellie Bertani

December 18, 2024 • 49 mins
In the latest episode of The Cusp, host Paul Fain talks with Ron Smith, vice president of philanthropy at Salesforce. Smith, who has overseen more than $225M in giving, talks about how to be thoughtful about AI's rapid integration into education, to ensure that students aren't left behind. Ellie Bertani, president and CEO of the GitLab Foundation, also joins Fain for this episode. Bertani describes the foundation's ...
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AI and the Relationship Economy with Aneesh Raman, LinkedIn's Chief Economic Opportunity Officer

October 2, 2024 • 33 mins
Aneesh Raman is LinkedIn's chief economic opportunity officer. He's a former war correspondent for CNN and speechwriter for President Obama, among other star turns. In this episode, Paul Fain talks with Aneesh about his humanistic take on the potential for artificial intelligence to usher in a more meritocratic job market and society. Aneesh takes a sweeping historical look at the coming technological disruption, wi...
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Measuring AI's Impacts with Julia Lane, NYU Economist and Expert on Public Data

September 10, 2024 • 29 mins
Julia Lane is a renowned expert on public data. An economist, NYU professor, and regular advisor to the federal government, Julia recently advised the Commerce Department on President Biden's executive order on AI. In this episode, Paul Fain talks with Julia about her intriguing call for a new national center on data that would measure AI's impacts on jobs—a center that exists outside ...
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AI at Work: Expert Takes on the Tech's Impact on Jobs and Education

August 26, 2024 • 34 mins
In this episode of The Cusp, host Paul Fain shares highlights from the midpoint of the show's first season. Among the experts featured are George Siemens, who discusses the integration of AI in universities, and Ben Armstrong, who shares research on AI's incremental effects on jobs. Katy Knight emphasizes the importance of keeping humans in the loop when tapping AI solutions, while Lydia Logan encourages educators to embrace A...
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The Democratization of AI Skills, with Lydia Logan, Tiffany Hsieh, and Alex Swartsel

July 16, 2024 • 54 mins
The Center for Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Work from JFFLabs seeks to shape AI's impact on skills development, job quality, and equitable outcomes. In this episode, Paul Fain speaks with Alex Swartsel and Tiffany Hsieh, who help lead the center's work. They talked about AI-specific credentialing, how community colleges can best meet this moment, and much more. Lydia Logan also joined F...
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Preparing Students for Changing Careers, with Alex Kotran and Leigh Ann DeLyser

June 11, 2024 • 62 mins
The AI Education Project seeks to help both educators and students with foundational AI literacy. Alex Kotran, the nonprofit's founder and CEO, talks with Paul Fainin the latest episode of The Cusp. Kotran says not knowing how AI will change job roles keeps him up at night. But he says we have more certainty about what the skills of the future will be. Leigh Ann DeLyser follows Kotran in the episode. T...
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A Moving Target—Preparing for AI With Ben Armstrong and Katy Knight

May 14, 2024 • 59 mins
MIT's Work of the Future initiative is researching how generative AI can contribute to higher-quality jobs. Ben Armstrong, an MIT research scientist and the initiative's co-lead, talks with Paul Fain in this must-listen episode. Ben describes what he and his colleagues are finding, offering a highly informed reality check on AI and its impacts. Following Ben is an interview with Katy Kni...
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The Cusp with Paul Fain - Podcast Trailer

May 13, 2024 • 1 min
Host Paul Fain explains what to expect on The Cusp and why you should listen.
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AI's Impact on Teaching and Learning with George Siemens

April 11, 2024 • 41 mins
George Siemens is a trusted, veteran thinker about technology’s impact on learning. A professor of psychology who has taught at several universities around the world, Siemens these days is helping to lead a project on artificial intelligence at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Paul Fain talks with George about why he thinks AI will have a profound effect on teaching and learning. George frames this opportun...
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LIVE from SXSW EDU with Riddhima Mishra, Edith Yang, and Debbie Wasden

April 10, 2024 • 38 mins
Recorded live at SXSW EDU, this episode features three experts who are digging into AI’s impacts on education and work: Riddhima Mishra, research director at Learning Collider; Edith Yang, senior associate at MDRC; and Debbie Wasden, senior vice president at the Burning Glass Institute. Paul Fain talks with the three panelists about research questions they’re exploring, including how AI is reshaping jobs and what that m...
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