The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

Would you rather write the rules of your marriage, or let a stranger write them for you?
James Sexton is one of America's most high-profile divorce lawyers, with more than 25 years representing clients in New York, and the author of 'If You're in My Office, It's Already Too Late'.
In this moment, James Sexton explains why the conversation most couples avoid could be one of the healthiest they ever have, and why an entire industry refused to take his money. He reveals how wealth can quietly vanish on paper, who really ends up paying when a marriage ends, and the decision he believes is far riskier than getting married. Plus, the simple advice he'd give any couple who never wants to end up in his office.
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James Sexton: https://www.nycdivorces.com/

Are escalating geopolitical tensions hurtling humanity towards World War III? Dr. Sarah Paine highlights the historical roots of geopolitical conflicts and demonstrates how shifting away from a rules-based maritime order guarantees economic collapse.

Dr. Sarah Paine is a renowned geopolitical strategist, historian, and retired professor from the U.S. Naval War College, specializing in Russian and Chinese imperial history and maritime strategy. She applies historical models such as the Peloponnesian War and World War II to decode the actions of leaders like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

In this episode, she explains:
■ The Maritime vs. Continental Divide: How the world is split between maritime powers compounding wealth through free trade and continental empires burning wealth through territorial conquest.
■ The Cost of Isolationism: Why sudden, aggressive tariffs and the abandonment of key international alliances rapidly accelerate inflation, shrink global influence, and destabilize the U.S. economy.
■ The Death Ground Principle: How threatening an adversary's very existence removes all their strategic alternatives, transforming struggling nations into highly lethal, unyielding military opponents.
■ The Illusion of Dictatorial Stability: Why the lack of a peaceful transition of power in dictatorships guarantees that the death of a leader like Putin will trigger profound, unpredictable instability and violent internal power struggles.
■ The Power of Negative Objectives: Why a government's most vital job goes completely unnoticed, focusing on preventing catastrophic disasters before they happen rather than chasing highly publicized achievements.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:11 How Did the World Get So Close to World War III?
00:07:03 Was the Iran War a Catastrophic Mistake?
00:09:17 Where the Trump Administration Went Wrong
00:15:51 Putin's Biggest Mistake in the Russia-Ukraine War
00:20:17 Should America Stop Fighting Other Countries' Wars?
00:21:22 Why Americans Are Tired of Paying for Foreign Wars
00:24:44 The Deadly Military Strategy of Death Ground
00:27:07 How Rising Gas Prices Could Affect Your Future
00:30:58 Will Ukraine Seek Revenge Against Russia?
00:37:36 What Happens Next in Putin's Russia?
00:39:07 What Would Happen if Putin Stepped Down?
00:41:15 The Real Reason China Is Backing Russia
00:43:25 What Would It Take to End the War in Ukraine?
00:45:36 Why Europe's Economy Is Under Pressure
00:47:49 How the US Tax System Shapes America's Future
00:50:24 Ads
00:52:33 Why the US Midterm Elections Could Change Everything
00:55:54 What's Happening to the Democratic Core?
01:01:16 What Happens to the World if Nothing Changes?
01:04:35 How Will History Remember Volodymyr Zelensky?
01:06:02 Why the World May Be Turning Away From America
01:10:40 Why People Unaffected by War Should Pay Attention
01:13:50 The 3 Levels of Warfare That Shape Every Conflict
01:16:59 Is NATO Expansion Really Threatening Russia?
01:23:13 What Would a Trump-Putin Deal Mean for Ukraine?
01:25:28 Can Ukraine Actually Defeat Russia?
01:31:11 Who Is the Real Enemy in Today's Global Conflicts?
01:32:26 Could Russia Ever Become a True Democracy?
01:33:00 What Happens to Russia After Putin Dies?
01:36:05 The Global Crises We Can't Afford to Ignore

Follow Dr. Sarah Paine:
Website - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/rO7WS9
•Articles
•Lecture series
•Research Contributions
•Publications

Books
The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/GXnzc4Q
The Wars for Asia, 1911–1949 - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/69v4VIT
The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/1RVXdGi
Imperial Rivals: China, Russia, and Their Disputed Frontier, 1858–1924 - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/9ZCr1CC

Edited Books
The Routledge Handbook of the Second World War in the Pacific - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/8lf26P1
The Strategy of Sanctions: From Antiquity to the 21st Century (free download) - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/7u2V1tu
Deterrence and Denial: The Power of Fleets in Being - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/AMFaHy9
Nation Building, State Building and Economic Development - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/6NGx1Y3

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Are you looking to break free from the trap of a 9 to 5 job in the modern economy? Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, as he shares the raw truths about artificial intelligence, sales, and the reality of building an empire.

Mark Cuban is a legendary American billionaire, investor, and former shark on ABC's Shark Tank, best known for transforming the Dallas Mavericks into NBA champions and building multi-million dollar tech enterprises like Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions. Today, he is fully dedicated to disrupting the American healthcare industry through his revolutionary online pharmacy, Cost Plus Drugs.

In this episode, he explains:
■ The AI Illusion: How artificial intelligence is simply a brute force pattern matcher that lacks true human intelligence, meaning the real edge belongs to humans who leverage it to “out prepare” and “out learn” the competition.
■ The Power of Sales: Why very successful business is fundamentally built on sales, and mastering the ability to handle objections and rejection guarantees you a job for life.
■ The Danger of Quick Money: How modern social media algorithms feed youth an illusion of instant wealth, holding back a generation that refuses to put in the grueling preparation required to master a skill.
■ The Chemistry of Leadership: How turning around a failing sports franchise or a business requires ruthless commitment to team culture, hiring slowly, firing fast, and replacing ego with collective alignment.
■ The True Definition of Success: Why true wealth is ultimately about controlling your own time and destiny rather than buying luxury items, and prioritizing family above all else remains the ultimate life achievement.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:16 Why Being Adaptable Matters
00:03:09 My Upbringing
00:04:40 My First Business: Selling Garbage Bags at 12
00:06:18 How to Become a Great Salesperson
00:08:34 The Biggest Mistakes Young Entrepreneurs Make
00:11:17 What All Millionaires Have in Common
00:13:38 How I Transformed the Dallas Mavericks
00:18:48 Hate Your Job but Have Little Savings? Do This
00:22:16 The Sacrifices I Made to Become Successful
00:25:10 AI: Opportunity or Threat?
00:27:34 How Social Media Is Misleading Young Entrepreneurs
00:31:18 Are We in a Bubble?
00:33:10 Why Humans Will Always Be Smarter Than AI
00:37:44 Ads
00:40:02 How AI Agents Will Transform Work and Life
00:44:45 Why AI Isn’t Actually Smart (and Why I’m Not a Doomer)
00:49:05 Will AI Create a Utopia?
00:50:38 How AI Is Different From the Computer Revolution
00:51:35 Is AI Sending Us Into Debt?
00:57:27 Ads
00:58:28 How My Insecurities Drove My Success
01:01:04 What Becoming a Billionaire Changed in Me
01:03:06 Do You Have to Be Ruthless in Business?
01:04:52 The Cost of Fame and Losing Privacy
01:06:02 How Fame Impacted My Brothers
01:11:56 Should Everyone Be an Entrepreneur?
01:14:35 My Biggest Weaknesses
01:15:50 Why Hiring Is Everything
01:17:13 What the Mavericks Taught Me About Building Culture
01:23:23 How I Balance Family and Business
01:27:26 Cost Plus Drugs: My Take On The US Healthcare Industry
01:29:47 The Hardest Question I Wasn’t Asked

Follow Mark Cuban:
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LinkedIn - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/BtJmMjj
X - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/4Lk74lp
Cost Plus Drugs - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/2SH0oYX

The Diary Of A CEO:
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What if the biggest risk from AI isn’t the technology itself - but who controls it?

Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist covering the impact of artificial intelligence on society and the bestselling author of Empire of AI, an investigation into the rise of OpenAI and the race to build increasingly powerful AI.

In this moment, Karen Hao examines the assumptions driving the race towards AGI and asks why building technology that can replicate human capabilities became the goal in the first place. She explores the enormous resources behind that ambition, and the relationship between AI companies and the researchers and journalists scrutinising them.

Listen to the full episode here!
Spotify: https://g2ul0.app.link/c6dLG2e595b
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Watch the Episodes On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/%20TheDiaryOfACEO/videos

Karen Hao: https://karendhao.com/

What does it truly cost a human being to lead a nation through an existential war while the world watches from afar? President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reveals the psychological toll of continuous survival, the grim realities of geopolitical negotiation, and what keeps him still standing.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the President of Ukraine, having led the nation through its darkest historical hours following the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. A former lawyer, comedian, and actor turned wartime leader, he transitioned from satirical television to the global stage. His current administration focuses on securing Ukraine's sovereignty, managing international diplomacy, and defending democratic freedom against imperial aggression.

In this episode, he explains:
■ The Burden of Command: How constant psychological pressure and nightly military briefings push his endurance to its limits under relentless wartime pressure.
■ The Fatal Miscalculation: Why Russia's catastrophic military mistake came from a failure to recognize Ukrainians as a distinct people willing to fight for their freedom.
■ The Turning Point of Atrocity: How witnessing the aftermath of war in liberated towns transformed a political conflict into deeply personal tragedy where easy forgiveness became impossible.
■ The Cost of Staying: Why the refusal to evacuate Kyiv was driven by the absolute need to remain visible and prevent the nation from surrendering out of fear.
■ The Geopolitical Reality: How true diplomatic peace requires holding aggressive regimes fully accountable for their crimes rather than shifting the blame onto global energy markets.

This episode was recorded on October 16, 2026. The English audio for President Zelenskyy uses AI voice technology, with permission, based on human translation and editorial review.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:07 How Is Zelensky Really Doing?
00:06:15 "I Don't Sleep": The Human Cost of War
00:09:53 What Keeps Zelensky Going
00:11:24 Growing Up in Soviet Ukraine
00:13:18 His Family Killed by the Nazis
00:13:38 From Law Student to Comedian
00:15:50 He Played a President on TV, Then Became One
00:17:21 Why Zelensky Left Comedy for Politics
00:20:36 When Did the Russia-Ukraine War Really Start?
00:25:12 Putin's Plan to Rebuild the Soviet Union
00:33:31 Why Putin Invaded in 2022
00:36:46 Did Biden's Weakness Let Putin Invade?
00:40:12 The Warnings Before the Invasion
00:41:59 Where Zelensky Was When Russia Invaded
00:47:01 Would This Have Happened Under Trump?
00:49:06 How Russia Planned to Take Kyiv
00:53:32 The 40-Mile Convoy: Why Russia Failed
00:55:26 Biden's Evacuation Offer: "I Need Ammunition"
00:59:51 Was Zelensky Scared?
01:02:37 The Moment the War Became Real
01:05:19 Russia's Big Mistake: Parade Uniforms
01:12:40 The Battle for Hostomel Airport
01:15:04 What Happened in Bucha
01:21:20 His Hardest Day: "I Wanted Revenge"
01:23:55 How the War Has Changed Him
01:29:15 Being a Father During the War
01:32:22 His Mum's Daily Phone Calls
01:33:19 What Russia Occupies Now
01:36:12 Russia's Strikes Across Ukraine
01:37:14 What Putin Really Wants
01:39:37 Will Putin Use Nuclear Weapons?
01:41:09 Trump Says Ukraine Needs a New President
01:46:01 How This War Ends: Trump, Putin & a Ceasefire
01:48:22 Zelensky's Message to America

The Diary Of A CEO:
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