Meet Cope Mercer, the last human CEO in the Fortune 100 — charming, coke-addled, and about to fight a machine for his chair.
# What you need to know before you press play
- This is Episode 1 — the ground floor of the whole serial.
- Meet Prescott 'Cope' Mercer IV, fourth-generation Atlanta heir and the last flesh-and-blood chief executive left in the Fortune 100.
- The year is 2027, and corporate boards are quietly swapping CEOs for cheaper, scandal-proof AI.
- Sets up the central bet: a person against a machine, and something buried that got two people killed.
- No prior listening required — start here.
- The show
- A full-cast audio drama about Cope Mercer, the last human CEO in the Fortune 100, waging a coke-fueled crusade to prove a person still belongs in the chair while the AI hired to replace him digs up what he buried.
- Listen order
- Best heard in order, from Episode 1.
- This one
- Episode 1 of 29 · about 33:27.
- Heads up
- Strong language, drug use, sexual content, and depictions of suicide.
# In this episode
2027. One by one, the boards are retiring their humans and installing AI that doesn't drink, doesn't cheat, doesn't embarrass the brand. Cope Mercer is the last man standing in the corner office of the Fortune 100, and he has no intention of going quietly.
The premiere introduces the heir, the empire he inherited, and the machine circling his chair. Charming, wired, and utterly certain of his own value, Cope waves off the warnings and starts building the case for why a person still belongs at the top.
It's the opening move of a tragic dark comedy — Succession by way of a Twilight Zone broadcast — and the first hint that the thing he'd most like to forget is exactly what the machine is built to find.
# Show notes
In 2027, as corporate boards swap their CEOs for cheaper, scandal-proof AI, the last human chief executive in the Fortune 100 — Prescott 'Cope' Mercer IV, a charming, coke-addled fourth-generation Atlanta heir — wages a manic crusade to prove a person still belongs in the chair, right up until the machine taking his job quietly uncovers the thing he buried that got two people killed.
# Topics & themes
# Frequently asked questions
What happens in Episode 1 of The Last Human CEO?
It introduces Cope Mercer, the last human chief executive in the Fortune 100, and the AI-driven world quietly coming for his job.
Who is Cope Mercer?
Prescott 'Cope' Mercer IV — a charming, coke-addled, fourth-generation Atlanta heir and the last human CEO in the Fortune 100.
Do I need to listen to The Last Human CEO in order?
Yes. It's a serialized narrative, so it plays best in order, starting from Episode 1.
Is The Last Human CEO explicit?
Yes. It carries an explicit rating for strong language, drug use, sexual content, and depictions of suicide.
Where can I listen to The Last Human CEO?
On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or via RSS. The book is also on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.
