Bald Ambition

Host Mookie Spitz — fresh off finishing his second novel — takes a sledgehammer to the hysteria that AI is the death of creative writing. In this unfiltered deep dive, he argues that the heart of any good writing is timeless: storytelling driven by human experience, emotion, and characters you actually care about.

AI? A useful and enthusiastic sidekick. But it can’t live your life, wrestle with your scars, or dream up the flawed, hu...

You finally did it! You wrote the damn book. You self-published it. Congratulations!—now brace yourself, because nobody gives a shit. 

In this brutally honest episode, Mookie Spitz breaks down the gut-wrenching, ego-bruising reality of trying to market and self-promote a book in a world drowning in content and distraction. 

From the raw highs of cracking his own creative code and learning how to write a great novel with Jonnie Fazool...

In this episode, Mookie Spitz unloads on the modern internet — tracing its slide from the glorious chaos of Usenet, IRC, and walled-off forums into today’s algorithm-choked, centralized cesspool. He argues for a smarter, AI-driven return to decentralization: digital “tribes” where like-minded people can gather, free from trolling, doomscrolling, and spam, but still get jolts of outside ideas to keep it fresh.

Along the way, he break...

In this third installment of The Wall podcast series, Mookie Spitz dives headlong into the chaos of modern marketing, media, and the relentless flood of content competing for human attention. Building on his earlier breakdowns of the death of earned media and the inevitable (but not yet imminent) AI targeting revolution, this episode zeroes in on what to actually do right now — before the bots take over.

Mookie unpacks:

• Why even ...

Host Mookie Spitz tears into the brutal reality of digital marketing: your genius content, product, or art is probably DOA — not because it sucks, but because it’s buried under an avalanche of bullshit. 

In this blisteringly honest solo episode, Mookie traces humanity’s obsession with communication from cave paintings to TikTok, shows how billion-dollar platforms throttle organic reach unless you pay up, and rants about how AI might...

In this solo rant, Mookie Spitz dissects the invisible monster we’re all up against—The Wall: a relentless digital flood of content, misinformation, distraction, and algorithmic gatekeeping. He dives deep into how the modern marketer, creator, or brand can barely get a word in edgewise without screaming into a storm of AI-generated junk and viral idiocy.

Mookie unpacks how convenience killed privacy, how everyone’s shouting "We...

From class clown to dancefloor king, Howard Wallach joins Mookie Spitz to talk shop, soul, and set lists. In this episode, we go behind the curtain with a master of moments who’s turned DJing into an art form where empathy and customer service become a force for good. Howard reveals how tragedy shaped his hustle, how being of service trumps being the star, and why building trust beats booking gigs.

You’ll hear how he created an even...

Mookie has a spirited chat with David Garrison, CEO of Connect Networks to discuss the organizational challenges of fragmentation, communication, and misaligned priorities—and what to do about it. The two dive headfirst into how David's networking platform leverages human-centered tech to smash silos, spark curiosity-driven collaboration, and build trust through radically simple one-on-one conversations.

David explains how most...

Mookie Spitz welcomes Dale Cooke, one of the most trusted names in FDA regulatory compliance, who shares a survival guide for healthcare marketing professionals during this historic time of sweeping upheaval. Against the backdrop of Trump’s second-term administration, which has eliminated thousands of FDA and HHS positions and ushered in unpredictable deregulation, Dale shares urgent insights from inside the storm.

Packed with real-...

In this punchy, provocative solo episode of Bald Ambition, host Mookie Spitz delivers a masterclass in consultative selling by starting with an uncomfortable truth: customers don’t care about you—your product, your company, or your clever branding. They care about themselves. And that insight, Mookie argues, is the key to cutting through noise in today’s hyper-distracted digital marketplace.

Packed with sharp real-world examples, Mo...

Your bald host Mookie Spitz sits down with fellow follically-challenged digital strategist and innovator Todd Kolm for a scalp-tingling ride through the world of AI, healthcare, and the ever-elusive art of being human in a hyper-digital age.

From caffeine withdrawals to robot ethics, quantified selves, and patient empathy, Mookie and Todd dive deep. They explore why AI is more ingredient than recipe, how human connection still trump...

Bald Ambition welcomes Noriko Yokoi, co-founder of 3Cubed.ai, to discuss how generative AI is actually transforming the advertising landscape — with focus on the highly regulated world of healthcare communications. Noriko shares her journey from two decades in top-tier agencies to launching a startup focused on solving one of the industry's biggest challenges: scaling high-quality, compliant content across digital channels — q...

Host Mookie Spitz chats with advertising legend Tim Riley for a frank, feisty, and fun conversation about career pivots, personal branding, top notch client relationships, and the power of human connection and transformation. From Mad Men-style beginnings in the 1970s auto industry to pioneering digital healthcare marketing at Ignite Health, Tim shares his journey with razor-sharp wit, humility, and—yes—a full head of hair and impr...

Host Mookie Spitz chats with strategist Andrew Thorne, founder of The Invisible Gorilla consultancy to explore the importance of seeing the "invisible gorilla"—those obvious but overlooked insights—and the need for marketing and PR to merge, moving from rigid silos to more agile, integrated, human-centered approaches. The conversation spans the evolution of digital media, the influence of AI, the loss of agency through co...

Today the BA pod brings back a prior guest, Vince Parry of Parry Branding Group to talk politics, namely the rebranding of the defeated and despondent Democratic Party. Setting things up by describing the "Trump Paradox" of the Dems having a perfectly antithetical opposition, yet being unable to fight back, the conversation focuses on whether or not the party has only a binary choice between moderates and progressives, an...

Markets and companies are in transition, and so are many of their top business executives. Having undergone her own career transformation, Silja Chouquet empowers impact-driven leaders to create thriving, successful business models so that they can scale and deliver lasting, sustainable impact. She specializes in social business model coaching, and social innovation speaker engagements, which we discuss along with the unique challe...

Complex problems often have simple solutions, and Tony Ricci insists that only a few, fun minutes of movement a day will get us well on our way to healthier, happier lives. Give us a listen as Tony explains the profound benefits of routine exercise and good nutrition, and demonstrates how loving what we do ensures we'll do even more of it, turning downward cycles into uplifting ones for the betterment of ourselves and all of s...

Reza Ziai is living the artistic dream, literally rolling around the desert in his mobile van, writing, recording, and distributing his music. He takes a break to chat with me about his creative process, the music industry, and realizing his potential as a former "normie" and family man to fully dedicated songwriter and philosopher. Our conversation is freewheeling and fun, come along for the ride! 

The Guest

Reza Ziai is a...

The Apple iPhone launched in 2007, officially ushering in the age of mobile communications technology. The healthcare and life science industries recognized the potential of "mobile health" to revolutionize diagnostics and preventative medicine, and today's guest Brian T. Edwards was at the forefront of that emergence. His analysis and reviews of mhealth apps were state-of-the-art, and I caught up with him after all ...