World Changing Ideas Fast Company

Two weeks ago, the former Republican National Committee boss Ronna McDaniel was hired and then fired as an MSNBC contributor. This came about after pushback from staff, including complaints that she had touted Donald Trump’s debunked claims of voting malfeasance in the 2020 election. At the same time, there was backlash from people on the right who chalked up her dismissal as proof of left-wing media bias. Presiding over the chaos was NBCUniversal News chairman Cesar Conde, who has been trying to make the network for all viewpoints. But is that even possible in the Trump era? We talked to Fast Company contributing writer Brian Stelter, who profiled Cesar Conde in our upcoming spring issue.
Then we chatted about one of Fast Company’s recognition programs, Brands That Matter. This is where Fast Company highlights companies that build a connection with their audiences by being culturally relevant, making an impact, and communicating their mission and values clearly. Our advertising and brand correspondent, Jeff Beer, joined us to share his favorite brands at the moment. Kristen Wiig's reprisal of the Target lady, SunChips jumping on the eclipse phenomenon, and . . . Dramamine producing a short documentary about barf bags.

The impact of AI on finance departments will be huge.

Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list is out! We chatted with Fast Company Executive Editor Amy Farley to hear about the top five winners and who her personal faves were. Spoilers:
Nvidia, OpenAI and Microsoft were at the top but some surprises were the National Women's Soccer League, United Auto Workers and ... Chess.com.
Then, Fast Company Senior Staff Editor Jeff Beer sat down with Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant and CMO Taylor Montgomery to discuss how the fast-food company is one of the most innovative brands out there.
For more on the MIC list, check it out here. And check out Jeff's Taco Bell feature story!

This past weekend, Fast Company hosted a three-day event as part of SXSW in Austin. Yaz moderated a bunch of panels, Josh was producing podcasts, and best-friend-of-the-pod Max Ufberg also moderated a number of panels. We met up with Max in person to record the show for the first time! Here's our recap of the weekend at the Fast Company Grill.
Then, Netflix’s new series “3 Body Problem” is based on the first volume of the Chinese science fiction trilogy “Remembrance of Earth’s Past.” The series depicts a fictional past, present, and future when an alien civilization comes to Earth. Yaz chatted with “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, “True Blood” executive producer Alexander Woo, and director Derek Tsang about the process of adapting a popular book series and turning it into a successful television show . . . and whether or not fan reactions factor into it.

How artificial intelligence is shaping the product journeys from procurement to end customers.

What is an Oscar campaign? How do studios run them? When does Oscar campaigning start?
We spoke with Allie Carieri to learn all about the work (and the money) that go into creating Oscar campaigns. Carieri creates experiences and events around entertainment, awards, film, and television as an independent marketing strategist. She also oversees experiential marketing activations as an accounts director at Civic Entertainment Group. She told us about the history of Oscar campaigns, the budgets behind these efforts, and we list some of the more successful campaigns.
On another story, luxury consignment company The RealReal has struggled to prove to investors that it can be a profitable company. But just last week, the company announced that it had its first profitable quarter. Rati Sahi Levesque, president and COO, explains how the company turned things around.