Latest Interviews
Showing 646–660 of 1,099 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist24 min
Plainly reigns but on a plane to Spain: Venezuela’s leader
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Kinley Salmon, Henry Trix, Anne Hanna
Evidence suggests opposition candidate Edmundo González won Venezuela's election with 67% of the vote, yet the Maduro regime enforced a fraudulent result, triggering mass arrests, over 24 deaths, and González's asylum flight to Spain. Concurrently, diplomatic tensions escalated after Argentina rejected the official outcome, leading to the expulsion of diplomats and a standoff at the Argentine Embassy. The crisis is projected to culminate in Maduro's third six-year term, deepening the humanitarian emergency while diminishing prospects for regional diplomatic compromise.
- The Economist25 min
Grand Barnier: France’s new prime minister
Grand Barnier, Michel Barnier, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Simon Verity, Rosie Bloor, Sophie Pedder, Adam O'Neill, Anne Rowe
Following a two-month political crisis, President Emmanuel Macron appointed veteran politician Michel Barnier as Prime Minister to steer France through a fragmented parliament, despite facing immediate opposition from the largest left-wing bloc and the urgent task of balancing a national budget exceeding EU deficit limits. In the United States, Donald Trump's campaign has pivoted to aggressive negative advertising targeting Kamala Harris regarding economic and border issues, while Harris attempts to rebuild demographic support through biographical storytelling ahead of the final weeks of the election. Meanwhile, acclaimed stone sculptor Simon Verity died at 79, leaving behind a legacy of intricate architectural works including the "Portal of Paradise" and whimsical commissions for notable figures like King Charles III.
- a16z35 min
Implementation, Data, Impact of Healthcare AI with Julie and Vijay
Industry leaders project that AI agents will reduce healthcare costs by up to 50% through labor arbitrage and prevention-focused value-based care, while simultaneously compressing training times from months to days. Despite these economic advantages, widespread adoption faces significant hurdles including regulatory ambiguity over AI credentialing, the inelastic nature of healthcare demand, and the critical need to shift from retrospective records to prospective data generation. To overcome these barriers, organizations are reclassifying technology as labor, utilizing AI as a recruitment tool to reduce clinician burnout, and transitioning toward hybrid models where human oversight manages complex exceptions while automated systems handle routine phenotyping and triage.
- The Economist24 min
Current affairs: how batteries will green the grid
Rosie Bloor, Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Anjani Trivedi, Mary Giacomaglia, Ludwig Siegler
The event details a convergence of rapid renewable energy storage scaling driven by EV battery overcapacity and supply chain dominance, alongside a global tourism rebound that shifts demand from overtoured European cities to expanding Asian and Middle Eastern infrastructure. Simultaneously, it addresses the urgent need for parental strategies to mitigate generative AI risks like deepfakes and addiction while fostering digital literacy through critical engagement. These interconnected trends highlight how technological innovation in grid storage and travel infrastructure must evolve alongside adaptive policy frameworks to address long-duration energy needs and the safe integration of AI into daily life.
- Goldman Sachs26 min
Will Fed policy trigger a US recession?
Allison Nathan, Claudia Sahm, Bill Dudley, Rob Kaplan, Alyssa Nathan
Following the technical activation of the Sahm Rule in July 2024, leading economists are divided on the likelihood of an imminent U.S. recession, with estimates ranging from Goldman Sachs' 20% probability to Bill Dudley's 60% forecast based on conflicting interpretations of labor supply shifts and demand destruction. While Fed Chair Powell signals impending rate cuts, experts like Claudia Sahm and Dudley warn that monetary policy risks lagging behind structural economic shifts, potentially turning a soft landing into an unforced recession if the central bank fails to act decisively. The prevailing base case anticipates a mild downturn or no contraction if the Federal Reserve successfully lowers borrowing costs, though divergent views persist regarding whether current unemployment data reflects a genuine demand shock or a temporary labor force anomaly.
- The Economist28 min
Beyond the bullets: we go to Ukraine
Andriy Khlyvnyuk, Jason, Oliver Carroll, Sarah Larniuk, Yevhen Klopotenko
Two-and-a-half years into Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine contends with critical military pressures on the Pokrovsk front and a controversial Kursk incursion that has emboldened allies while straining domestic reinforcements. Simultaneously, the nation is undergoing a profound cultural renaissance that rejects post-Soviet identity through government bans on Russian media, the resurgence of traditional fashion, and culinary initiatives championed by Chef Yevhen Klopotenko to reclaim Ukrainian heritage. Despite these symbolic victories and the mobilization of folk traditions, civilians face relentless energy attacks and deep-seated anxieties regarding long-term economic stability and post-war survival.
- The Economist26 min
The sound of fury: pressure builds within Israel
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Anshul Pfeffer, Emily Steinmark, Tim Cross
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defied international pressure and domestic protests following the recovery of six dead Israeli hostages, even as the US criticized his efforts and Britain suspended arms sales. Concurrently, studies reveal a persistent gender gap in generative AI adoption, where high-achieving women self-impose bans due to ethical concerns despite hiring premiums for AI expertise. Meanwhile, new research in *Science Advances* proposes using artificial metal dust to warm Mars, offering a method 5,000 times more mass-efficient than previous terraforming concepts.
- The Economist23 min
Extremes come true: Germany’s far-right triumph
Rosie Bloor, Tom Nuttall, John McDermott, Carla Suburrana Artus
In recent state elections in Germany's Saxony and Thuringia, the extremist far-right AfD secured first place in Thuringia and finished second in Saxony, creating a complex political deadlock that challenges the ruling national coalition's standing ahead of September's federal vote. Simultaneously, the newly formed BSW splinter party emerged as a significant third force, forcing the conservative CDU to navigate the traditional "cordon sanitaire" against cooperating with the far-right while considering unstable alliances with ideologically opposed groups. This electoral surge in eastern Germany is driven by long-standing regional neglect and high voter volatility, intensifying scrutiny on Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government.
- The Economist24 min
For whom the well tolls: Why we must price water
Helen Fisher, Rosie Bloor, Robert Guest, Annie Crable, Anne Rowe
Global water scarcity, projected to shrink per capita freshwater supply by 29% by century's end, is driving social unrest in Chile and geopolitical tensions over the Nile, while climate-induced floods have displaced 1.5 billion people over the past two decades. Simultaneously, U.S. border policy shifts have triggered a surge in migrant crossings at the northern frontier, where over 19,000 encounters occurred last year as smuggling networks rerouted travelers from Mexico and India through deadly northern corridors. In a related scientific development, the late anthropologist Helen Fisher established that romantic love is a distinct neurobiological system and developed a four-part temperament inventory used globally to manage interpersonal dynamics.
- 80,000 Hours26 min
Highlights: Edge cases of sentience & acting ethically despite massive uncertainty | Jonathan Birch
Philosophy professor Dr. Jonathan Birch presents *The Edge of Sentience*, a work analyzing how "inductive risk" has historically led medical and scientific experts to undervalue potential suffering in neonates, vegetative patients, and animals due to overconfidence in current consciousness models. Drawing on cases like Jill Lawson's advocacy and Adrian Owen's fMRI research, Birch highlights the dangers of relying solely on expert consensus by proposing that citizens' assemblies should complement scientific input when setting bioethics policies for emerging technologies like neural organoids and artificial general intelligence. The book further argues for separating the legal right to abortion from debates on fetal sentience to prevent future scientific advancements from eroding bodily autonomy protections.
- The Economist26 min
Nvincible? What could curb Nvidia’s supremacy
Rosie Bloor, Jan Piotrowski, Aaron Braun, Stanley Pignal
NVIDIA's stock price declined despite record $30 billion quarterly revenue and a $3 trillion market cap, as investors weigh supply chain bottlenecks from TSMC capacity limits against rising competition from AMD and cloud providers designing their own chips. Simultaneously, Highway 1 along California's Central Coast faces existential threats from climate-driven erosion and landslides that threaten a $9 billion tourism industry, sparking debate over whether to continue repairing the crumbling infrastructure or abandon the route entirely. In Europe, the cultural practice of public nudity is retreating to an aging demographic of over-65s, driven by the deterrent effects of social media, smartphone surveillance, and shifting social norms among younger generations.
- Sequoia Capital42 min
ServiceNow ft. Frank Slootman and Fred Luddy - From Starting Over at 50 to Dodging a $150B Mistake
Frank Slootman, Fred Luddy, Roelof Botha, Doug Leone, Pat Grady, Carl Eschenbach, Rolof Huerta
Founded by Fred Luddy in 2004 after a previous bankruptcy, ServiceNow evolved from a free IT help desk tool into a $150 billion enterprise platform through a strategic pivot to broad, seat-based licensing and a complete cloud infrastructure overhaul. In 2011, Luddy ceded the CEO role to Frank Slootman to enforce operational discipline, while investors from Sequoia Capital blocked a $2.5 billion acquisition offer from VMware to force a path toward an IPO. This decision proved prescient as the company's market value surged to $10 billion within two years of going public in 2012, validating the strategy to prioritize long-term disruption over immediate financial stability.
- The Economist24 min
Cryptic message: why arrest Telegram’s founder?
Rosie Bloor, Tom Wainwright, Henry Kerr, Emily Steinmark
Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of Telegram, was arrested in Paris on charges related to the platform's alleged failure to curb child sexual abuse material, money laundering, and encryption violations. While Telegram denies the accusations and frames the incident as a free speech issue, the arrest has sparked global debate regarding content moderation standards and potential geopolitical motives tied to the platform's role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This legal development risks establishing a precedent for nations to use executive arrests to compel compliance with local laws, following similar threats faced by tech executives in Brazil.
- The Economist24 min
Block busters: how Russia flouts sanctions
Rosie Bloor, Kerryn Richmond-Jones, Tom Gardner, Piotr Zalewski
A catastrophic conflict in Sudan has displaced over 20% of its population and triggered a declared famine while pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces under the command of Generals al-Burhan and Hemeti. Simultaneously, Western sanctions on Russia have failed to significantly degrade its military capabilities as it exploits Central Asian trade routes to import dual-use components, exposing a critical gap between economic pressure and battlefield reality. In Turkey, a controversial new law mandating the mass rounding up of stray dogs for potential euthanasia has sparked legal challenges and regional non-compliance despite a severe shortage of state shelter capacity.
- Bank of America30 min
Empowering The Next Generation: Holly O’Neill & Tory Burch Foundation President Tiffany Dufu
Tory Burch Foundation President Tiffany Dufu outlines critical barriers facing women entrepreneurs, such as capital access and isolation, through a new Bank of America partnership that establishes a comprehensive library of on-demand educational resources. Drawing on her personal journey and the "drop the ball" philosophy, Dufu advocates for a redefined view of ambition where women prioritize personal recognition alongside community support. Her approach emphasizes peer accountability through groups like The Crew and practical mentorship strategies to ensure sustainable financial independence for future generations.