What happens when the crisis expert becomes the crisis? Jim Olson built a career helping some of the world’s biggest organizations navigate the unexpected. Then his own life veered dramatically off course. A trip to the ER for unexplained back pain led to a Stage IV metastatic melanoma diagnosis that had spread to his lung and brain. Months later, he suddenly lost much of his vision.

In this deeply personal conversation, Jim shares how he faced cancer, permanent vision loss and his wife’s own cancer diagnosis, and why the lessons he learned managing crises became a roadmap for surviving his own. He and Jim Weiss talk about early detection, knowing when to slow down, asking for help and finding purpose when life changes without warning.

It’s a conversation about what happens when the GPS stops working, the path ahead disappears and you have to find a new way forward.

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Why does healthcare keep getting more expensive, even as technology gets better? Dan Mendelson has spent his career trying to answer that question, from the Clinton White House to founding Avalere Health and now leading Morgan Health at JPMorgan Chase. In this episode of Get Real, Dan joins Jim Weiss to unpack what’s driving costs, why employer-sponsored healthcare needs more attention, and how AI, better primary care and smarter benefits could improve care. They also explore women’s health, access to breakthrough treatments and what it will take to make healthcare work better for more people.

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Alan Murray has spent decades inside the rooms where leaders make consequential decisions, from The Wall Street Journal and Fortune to today’s WSJ Leadership Institute. In this episode of Get Real, Alan joins Jim Weiss to talk about trust, leadership, AI and how technology is reshaping business and healthcare. They also explore the future of journalism, the changing role of CEOs and whether innovation could transform diseases like cancer. Then Alan gets personal, sharing how his own cancer experience changed the way he thinks about time, family, work and what matters most.

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Patrick Dempsey's non-profit, the Dempsey Center, is dedicated to offering wraparound support to cancer patients and the people around them impacted by cancer. On this episode, Jim and Patrick discuss the difference one person can make when they decide to turn a deeply personal experience into something that helps others.

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Jim sits down with Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca's Oncology Business Unit, to explore the breakthroughs reshaping cancer care and why this may be the most promising moment in oncology history. Dave's journey has taken him from the Pentagon to consulting, Genentech, and ultimately the leadership of one of the world's largest oncology businesses. Along the way, he's helped bring some of the most important cancer innovations to patients around the world. Jim and Dave discuss what came out of ASCO, the rise of AI in healthcare, precision diagnostics, antibody-drug conjugates, cell therapy, and the growing possibility that many cancers may one day become curable. They also tackle the perception problem facing the pharmaceutical industry, why global collaboration matters more than ever, and what it takes to lead through rapid scientific change.

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As a physician, scientist, entrepreneur, and biotech CEO, Jeremy Levin has spent his career helping bring innovative medicines to patients. In his book, Biotech in the Balance, he argues that the future of healthcare depends on restoring trust in science, strengthening innovation, and keeping patients at the center of decision-making. In this episode of Get Real, Jeremy joins Jim Weiss to discuss the state of biotechnology, the challenges facing drug development, and why the next generation of medical breakthroughs depends on the choices we make today. This is a conversation about science, leadership, and the future of human health.

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The rules of leadership are changing. According to Bob Pearson, success in the age of AI won't come from replacing human intelligence. It will come from learning how to amplify it. That's the central idea behind his latest book, The Compass. In this episode of Get Real, Bob joins Jim Weiss to explore how leaders can navigate a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence, why curiosity matters more than ever, and how organizations can adapt without losing their humanity. This is a conversation about leadership, innovation, and finding direction during times of rapid change.

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From helping build one of the world's leading oncology businesses to serving as CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Frank Clyburn has spent his career at the intersection of healthcare, leadership, and innovation. His work helped shape the commercialization of breakthrough medicines, including advances that transformed cancer care. In this episode of Get Real, Frank joins Jim Weiss to discuss the lessons that shaped him, the importance of putting patients first, and how leaders can balance innovation, access, and business success. This is a conversation about resilience, opportunity, and creating lasting impact.

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