Possible
What if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Possible is an award-winning, weekly podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger explore what’s possible with forward-thinking leaders, deep thinkers, and ambitious builders across many fields, such as technology, art, education and healthcare. These conversations center on the ways technology—and, in particular, AI—is shaping the future. In episodes, AI tools such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Inflection’s Pi are at work, offering informational asides, prompting guests, or demoing what they can do. Lastly, between guest episodes, Aria interviews her co-host Reid on his latest takes on what’s possible if we use technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
Episodes
August 27, 2025 • 55 mins
Gains in the quality of America’s K-12 education in the late 20th and early 21st century have largely plateaued—and , in several instances, reversed—in the last few decades. This week, Alpha School co-founder MacKenzie Price joins the show to discuss her fast-expanding network of AI-powered private schools, which she says represent the reform the system so badly needs. She explains why Alpha students learn core academics in two hou...
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August 20, 2025 • 18 mins
This week, Reid and Aria discuss the much-anticipated launch of GPT-5, Figma's blockbuster IPO, Perplexity’s bid to acquire Google Chrome, and the end of AOL’s dial-up internet service. Plus, Reid offers his take on why some companies find explosive growth and others fade just as fast.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
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August 13, 2025 • 52 mins
How can we take digitally-empowered democracy straight out of science fiction into reality?
This week, Reid and Aria are joined by two digital democracy pioneers, Audrey Tang and Divya Siddarth. Audrey Tang is a cyber ambassador-at-large and former inaugural Minister of Digital Affairs for Taiwan. Their pioneering initiatives like the Sunflower Movement, g0v, and vTaiwan have fought misinformation and influenced policy decisions...
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August 6, 2025 • 16 mins
Could the very technology that requires massive amounts of energy to power it also be key to solving the climate crisis? This week, Reid and Aria discuss the global energy arms race and why the U.S. is lagging behind competitors like China. Reid weighs in on the environmental impact and human costs of AI infrastructure, along with mounting tensions between hyperscalers and the communities that host their data centers.
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July 30, 2025 • 51 mins
What can public libraries teach us about finding and sharing trustworthy information in the age of AI? How can—and should—AI build upon the technology that is books? This week, Reid and Aria head to the New York Public Library in Manhattan for a conversation with the storied institution’s president and CEO, Tony Marx. They explore the function of libraries in the age of AI, debate the future of work, and discuss what it looks like ...
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July 23, 2025 • 24 mins
On Part II of last week’s Live Riff, co-hosted with Village Global, Reid fields audience member questions about scale product-market fit, license modeling, data sensitivities, and the future of customer service, along with positive use cases for deepfake technology and the making of Reid AI, his digital twin. He also tells a story from his PayPal days, when Peter Thiel gave him five days to come up with a solution to a problem that...
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July 16, 2025 • 40 mins
What’s the deal with hyperscalers’ recent string of acquisitions betting big on AI talent? When will business schools start requiring classes on managing agents? And how is—and isn’t—AI changing the path to scale and the future of work? Aria asks Reid about all of this and more in a special two-part Riff, recorded for a live audience of AI leaders and founders in New York City in partnership with Village Global in June.
Specia...
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July 9, 2025 • 28 mins
Crypto often feels like a microcosm of the broader government–tech relationship. On one extreme, you have true believers who see blockchain as the next frontier of economic empowerment and radical transparency. On the other, skeptics who point to ransomware attacks, illicit finance, and the flipside of anonymity—and call for an outright ban.
This week on Possible, Reid and Aria talk crypto –– both the positives and negatives –– ...
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July 2, 2025 • 64 mins
What if AI helped people develop and deepen their existing expertise, and better outfitted them for the jobs of the future? This week, Reid and Aria are joined by one of the world’s leading labor economists, David Autor, Ford Professor of Economics at MIT and co-director of its Work of the Future Task Force. He is also a Visiting Fellow in the Google Technology and Society Program. David’s landmark research on the China Shock has b...
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June 25, 2025 • 25 mins
Aria and Reid dive into the recent flurry of multibillion-dollar AI acquisitions—from OpenAI’s $3B Windsurf deal to Meta’s ~$15B stake in Scale AI—and what they reveal about how companies are racing to refactor for an AI-first future. Are acquihires overtaking acquisitions as the new strategic advantage? And how are companies balancing workforce shifts with long-term innovation? Plus, a look at the robotics boom, government investm...
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June 18, 2025 • 52 mins
What happens when we take numbers seriously—not just at face value, but in terms of their actual impact on our lives?
This week, Reid and Aria are joined by UK-based mathematician and media personality Hannah Fry to explore this deceptively simple question. From cancer diagnoses to dating apps, Hannah makes the case that understanding the math behind our decisions—and the "game" we're really playing—is essential to building a be...
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June 15, 2025 • 19 mins
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On this week's Riffs, Reid and Aria unpack last week’s conversation with Yuval Noah Harari, discussing AI's rapid advancements, its potential impacts on humanity, and the meaning of consciousness. Reid and Aria a...
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June 4, 2025 • 51 mins
What will it take to create AI that is as trustworthy, if not more trustworthy than humans?
This week, Reid and Aria sit down with Yuval Noah Harari, historian, philosopher, and best-selling author of several books including Nexus, Sapiens and Homo Deus. When it comes to outlook on AI, Yuval, Reid, and Aria agree on the importance of building both human trust in AI and AI that is genuinely truth-seeking, but they differ on how ...
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May 28, 2025 • 20 mins
On this week’s Riff, Reid reacts to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s suggestion that AIs can help address the loneliness epidemic and function as friends. He and Aria discuss why AIs can be great companions but not great friends, along with how to protect against agent misuse and deception.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
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May 21, 2025 • 54 mins
How do we build products and platforms that support a healthy, prosperous future? What will it take to “make the internet fun again?” Should kids be using AI? This week, serial entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian—who co-founded Reddit two decades ago and is currently working to reinvent the social news aggregator Digg—joins Reid and Aria to talk about (re)building online and offline communities in the age of AI. They hear from...
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May 14, 2025 • 18 mins
Reid breaks down OpenAI’s shift to a public benefit corporation—what it really means, why it matters, and why some critics are missing the point. Aria asks whether all frontier AI companies should follow suit. Reid and Aria discuss how educators can navigate the “messy middle” of AI in the classroom. They also dig into the future of assessment, what students (and job seekers) should be learning now to prepare for an AI future, and ...
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May 7, 2025 • 59 mins
What would it look like to keep all living creatures in the loop on the development of new technology?
Reid sat down for a wide-ranging solo discussion with Jane Goodall on that very subject – and more. They talked about how to maintain hope and focus on local impact in today’s often chaotic world, how technology – and AI in particular – might be helpful for conservation, and Jane’s global youth program, Roots & Shoots. Plus, th...
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April 30, 2025 • 22 mins
Reid weighs in on the U.S. government’s latest antitrust action against Google and what it could mean for competition, innovation, and America’s tech edge. Aria also asks about the rise of Chinese electric vehicles and why BYD might be “the Tesla of tomorrow;” the geopolitical costs of tariffs; and whether saying “please” and “thank you” to ChatGPT is worth it.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, ...
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April 23, 2025 • 53 mins
Why can the United States government help make a vaccine in a year but not build a high-speed train in a reasonable timeframe? What if our biggest problems—affordable housing shortages, energy limits, and scientific slowdowns—aren’t inevitable, but chosen?
This week, Reid and Aria sit down with Derek Thompson—staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the podcast Plain English—to explore how a scarcity mindset is holding American so...
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April 16, 2025 • 14 mins
After Tobi Lütke, the CEO of Shopify, put out a memo stating all his employees should be expected to use AI every day, Reid offers his thoughts on AI in the workplace. He also talks about the interplay between AI, social media, mis/disinformation, and the importance of shaping technology instead of restricting technology. Plus, Reid speculates on how AI can be just as groundbreaking in the world of play as it can be in the world of...
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