Thomas Ranese, VP of global marketing at Uber, talks about how a lack of planning can sometimes blow up in your face, at least until you figure out how to make the best of it. He also weighs in on the wisdom he'd like to bring back from the mountaintop and how to avoid running into walls at work.

Uber's VP of global marketing on winging it

Elizabeth Del Valle explains how to plan and host a great gathering, even over Zoom. She also weighs in on catching up on peak TV and Caribbean coffee culture.

YouTube Gaming's global head of marketing on digital dinner parties

Gila Wilensky never expected to marry a rabbi, but she's settled into duties much like those of a first lady—and adapted to long-distance religious life during the pandemic. She also weighs in on trying out for MasterChef and the lessons we'll all take from forced digital sabbaticals.

Xaxis' U.S president on life as a rabbinical spouse

Marvin Chow talks about his love of chains like McDonald's, Shake Shack and In-N-Out, especially outside the U.S. He also weighs in on working in his mother's 7-Eleven, being married to a chef and the social impact of brands at scale.

Google's VP of global marketing on loving fast food

The consultancy's global CEO spent his younger years touring Europe playing indie rock for a share of the door take. He also weighs in on disappointing The National's Matt Berninger and why drummers have so much baggage.

TwentyFirstCenturyBrand's Neil Barrie on playing in indie bands

Brand innovation and strategy partner Dan Clay talks about creating his 'Carrie Dragshaw' persona, meeting Sarah Jessica Parker and the drag we all wear every day.

Lippincott's 'Carrie Dragshaw' on drag, 'Bake Off'—and the personas we all create every day

Erich Joiner, founder of Tool of North America, talks about his side gig, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R on the professional racing circuit. He also weighs in the benefits of learning filmmaking before digital, running a coffeeshop and crashing into a concrete wall at 120 mph.

Tool of North America's founder on driving in the pro racing circuit

Anders Wahlquist, founder and CEO of B-Reel, ran a microbrewery in Sweden in the '90s—the first in the country to produce an unfiltered beer. He also talks about '70s cinema, running a nightclub and performing as a DJ.

B-Reel's CEO on running a microbrewery

Lindsey Farrar, founder and editor in chief of CRWN Magazine, planted her first garden this year. The collard greens flourished. The tomatoes weren't so lucky. She also weighs in on conscious consumption, buying dirt and realizing she was conditioned out of a birthright.

CRWN Magazine's founder on gardening

Brian Salzman, CEO and founder of RQ, has an eye for interior design. He's also one of the owners of Dive Palm Springs, a boutique hotel he helped renovate. He also weighs in on painting parties, office environments and explains how to spruce up a room for $5.

RQ's CEO on interior design and running a hotel

Asa Akira, brand ambassador at Pornhub and adult film actor, talks about the benefits of mental health counseling and couples therapy. She also weighs in on wilderness survival, general anesthesia and how empathy can solve the world's problems.

Pornhub brand ambassador Asa Akira on why everyone should go to therapy

Adam Singolda, CEO and founder of Taboola, talks about his love of building and creating with LEGO bricks. He also weighs in on Hebrew television and the triumph of obsession and curiosity over genius.

Taboola's founder on building with LEGOs

Agnes Fischer, president of The&Partnership, is also the author of a book on egg freezing, a process she undertook after a divorce in her mid-30s. She also talks about her love of traditional Hungarian foods like head cheese, dark dramas and how the pandemic has shifted calculations for many people about having a family.

The&Partnership's president on egg freezing

Al Patton, CCO at Dagger, is an amateur stand-up comic who’s played shows in New York City and Atlanta. He talks about the similarities between pitching and stand-up, not being able to embrace Michael Jordan’s Bulls just yet—and Ron White’s advice for success.

Dagger's CCO on stand-up comedy

Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare, talks about the vintage Honda CT90 motorbikes his father-in-law gave him for a wedding gift. They break a lot. He also weighs in on running a Division IV soccer team and the ultimate hot dog condiment.

Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley on fixing motorbikes

Dave Edwards, global head of growth at BeenThereDoneThat, talks about navigating rooms full of brilliant (and some not-so-brilliant) people. he also weighs in on his alter ego Weather Edwards, movie trivia and the worst song in history.

Dave Edwards of BeenThereDoneThat on not being the smartest guy in the room

Andrew Zimmerman is president of frog—a design and innovation consultancy. He talks about the year he spent traveling through Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union with one-ring circuses. He also weighs in on designing with empathy, finishing novels and  the dangerous life of a knifethrower's wife.

Frog's Andrew Zimmerman on traveling with the circus

Madonna Badger is the founder and chief creative officer of Badger & Winters, the agency behind the Women Not Objects campaign, No Kids in Cages and Olay’s 2020 Super Bowl ad. In 2011, her three children and her parents were killed in a fire on Christmas Day. Badger escaped by crawling out a window, clad only in her pajamas. Now, as the country faces 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, she talks about dealing with grief, both personal and public, on this episode of the “Ad Block” podcast.

Badger & Winters' Madonna Badger on coping with grief

Ryan Ford, CCO at Cashmere, talks about the music that influenced him when he was young and how it continues to impact his work now. He also weighs in on lullabies for his new daughter (who guest stars for a bit), music distribution before the internet and how the pandemic is already changing the music people to listen to.

Cashmere's chief creative officer on hip-hop

Ty Montague, founder co:collective, talks about being a licensed pilot who has been flying for nearly 20 years. He also weighs in on pandemic binge watching, aerobatics and the dangers of unstoppable artificial intelligence.

Ad Age Ad Block

Ad Age Ad Block

Get Started

Download the App