Could AI transformation be exhausting humans rather than optimizing their performance? As artificial intelligence transforms how we work, organizations face a new challenge: ensuring people have the brain health and skills to cope with the cognitive demands of technology. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Partners and Kana Enomoto, and McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) Senior Fellow Jacqueline Brassey, speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about why brain capital is becoming a key competitive advantage in the age of AI—and what leaders can do to build healthier, more adaptable, and higher-performing organizations.
In the second half of this episode, McKinsey Senior Partner Shubham Singhal joins Lucia to answer a few audience questions from a recent McKinsey Live webinar on geopolitics and how it’s reshaping global trade.
The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.
This episode has been adapted from our McKinsey Live webinar series.
Any unanswered questions about this episode? Send them our way at: TheMcKinseyPodcast@mckinsey.com

What the 2026 World Cup reveals about the next generation of sports fans
15:49

The real AI advantage
20:26

The serial builder advantage: Why repeat innovators win
25:29