The tables get turned on me once more - from host to guest - this time with Jonathan Sposato, a remarkable person who is one of Seattle’s loudest and most effective cheerleaders. This is a re-release of the original published on September 25, 2025.

Alejandro has lived and breathed the amazing natural ecosystems that make up our beloved planet. He is also an accomplished  and prolific author that currently leads Woodland Park Zoo, one of the largest zoos in America with a legacy of 126 years and one of the most important cultural and most visited institutions in Seattle. He is internationally known for his vision to define a new relationship between humans and nature by helping to restore the deep, affective bond between people and animals.

This week is America’s 249th birthday and there are few things more quintessentially American than football. So we have a special treat for you, a conversation with Marissa Solis. She is the steward of the NFL brand and serves as SVP of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing. The National Football League is by far the most valuable sports league in the world.

Tod is a remarkable human being, full stop. His journey’s genesis is rooted in very humble beginnings in one of the poorest counties in Missouri, punctuated by two tragedies, to becoming one of the most prolific sports executives in the United States over the last four decades. He is currently part-owner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Kraken and in previous chapters served as COO of the NFL, CEO of the Seattle Seahawks, CEO of the Tampa Bay Lightning, President of the Seattle Sounders FC, and acting President of the Portland Trailblazers among others.

Lyndee Fletcher is CEO of VCheck GLobal and she is one of the foremost experts in the public record and reputational due diligence industry. Since joining VCheck Global in 2016 as the company’s sixth hire, she has been an integral part of Vcheck’s operations and technology evolution enabling Vcheck to grow 2500%. She is by far the youngest CEO in the industry and also happens to one of the only female CEOs of an institutionally backed financial and business services company.

Elisa Orlanski Ours is at the top of the architecture and design world game. She is a highly regarded designer, educator, and industry leader who currently serves as Chief Planning & Design Officer at Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group. A founder of the firm’s Planning & Design department, Elisa has been instrumental in transforming the relationship between the design and the real estate industries, fusing architectural marketing with strong design principles throughout all phases of residential, hotel, and amenity space planning.

On March 5, 2025, Tom Llamas was named as Lester Holt’s successor as anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News beginning in summer 2025. This episode is a re-released show originally released on October 26, 2023. Tom’s life and career are remarkable and he is a master of truth telling and the news media.

Ethan Stowell is one of the most prolific chefs and restauranteurs in the United States. His name and remarkable restaurants have become synonymous with the culinary world in Seattle and has remade the scene. He also happens to care deeply about community and the power of food to create it.

Diego’s remarkable experiences and brilliance has driven him to work at the nexus of business, design, and technology. He is also a terrific human being, catalyst and educator. He has served as Intuit’s Chief Product & Design Officer, as a Senior Partner at IDEO, on the Harvard Board of Overseers, and on the founding team of Stanford’s d.school. He is an active startup advisor, investor, and member of several public boards, focusing on tough tech, fintech, and the future of transportation. He serves on the boards of LendingTree and TrueCar, and was on EngageSmart’s board until its January 2024 acquisition.

Nina Tandon is a remarkable person, who is currently Co-Founder and CEO of EpiBone, a biotech company that grows bone and cartilage for skeletal reconstruction which just recently completed human trials reconstructing mandibles. EpiBone has raised millions in investor funding and has received such distinctions as the World Economic Forum’s 2015 Technology Pioneer, named one of the 100 most exciting start-ups in New York City by Business Insider. Nina has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company Magazine; an Ernst & Young Winning Women and Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, among others.

Pope John Paul II visited the United States in 1979 and gave this speech in the Boston Common on October 1st of that year. He was born in Poland as Karol Józef Wojtyła on May 18, 1920 and was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 1978 until his death in 2005. Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian V1 in the 1500’s and the third longest serving pope after Pius IX and St. Peter (the first pope). He put emphasis on family and identity, while questioning consumerism, hedonism and the pursuit of wealth. He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his reign.

Nathalie Rayes serves as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia. Ambassador Rayes has led a distinguished career in public service and served previously as the president and CEO of Latino Victory. Prior to joining Latino Victory, Rayes was vice president of public affairs for Grupo Salinas in the United States and executive director of Fundación Azteca America. Earlier in her career, she managed the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Relations, International Trade, and Protocol, and established the city’s first Office of Immigrant Affairs.

This is the fifth of five from our “Experimental Series by A.I.”. The machine talks about three articles analyzing the presidency of Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei.

Florian Faber has one of the coolest jobs in the world, he is CEO and on the Board of Directors of MCH Group, which among many endeavors owns, hosts, curates and puts together the incredible spectacles the four Art Basel shows deliver to millions. In June 2024, they concluded Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland, as he calls it “the mothership” and Art Basel Miami Beach is happening this week and weekend in Miami.

This episode was recorded on November 18, 2024,  the day when it was reported that Senior antitrust officials at the Justice Department plan to ask a judge to order Google to divest its Chrome web browser, Bloomberg reported citing anonymous sources. The remarkable person leading this effort which at its root goes to the heart of free markets, power and competition is Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General of the United States’ Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Two other notable cases he has led include an antitrust suit related to JetBlue’s attempted acquisition of Spirit, and one against Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment. Upon filing the lawsuit, Kanter stated that ”Live music should not be available only to those who can afford to pay the Ticketmaster tax”.

Liz currently serves on the boards of REI and Curology where she chairs the audit committee(s).  She is a past board member and audit committee chair for three companies that are disrupting their respective industries:  Blue Apron, Jumia Technologies and Boom Supersonic.  She brings many years of executive finance experience and expertise to these roles, having served as CFO for several public companies, including Getty Images, Primus Knowledge Solutions, and Fluke Corporation.

Marcelo is as thoughtful, accomplished and smart as he is a terrific human being. Born and raised in Argentina, he is a seasoned C-suite executive with over 25 years of global experience. He also happens to be a world-class mountain climber that has summited some of the highest peaks on earth and a published author.

Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri is a Partner and Chief Operating Officer at TPG, based in San Francisco. She is a member of the firm’s board of directors and executive committee. As COO, Anilu leads TPG’s operational functions globally and is responsible for aligning these functions and strategy with the firm’s strategic business and investment priorities.

This is the fourth of five (4/5) from our “Experimental Series by A.I.”. The machine talks about policy, politics and the upcoming election.. We gave NotebookLM a few disparate inputs and the machine created this great conversation.

Seth is co-founder and general partner at Boulder-based Foundry. He and his firm have invested in hundreds of companies and funds around the world. A driving force for Seth has always been the power at the intersection of community and business. In 2021, he released ”The New Builders: Face to Face with the True Future of Business” and is currently in the process of writing another book around the theme of the evolution of capitalism and its future.