Latest Interviews
Showing 691–705 of 1,099 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist21 min
Down to the wires: Africa’s digital lag
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Ore Ogunbiyi, Sophie Pedder, John Bleasdale
The event analyzes Africa's critical digital infrastructure deficit, highlighting how energy shortages and regulatory barriers threaten to exclude the continent from $16 trillion in potential AI-driven economic growth. It further examines the Paris Olympics' environmental contradictions, where a billion-euro cleanup of the Seine failed to prevent bacterial contamination during the triathlon despite the river's vital role in global logistics. Finally, the discussion retrospectively evaluates the enduring success of the *Blair Witch Project*, detailing its record-breaking $250 million return on a $35,000 budget through innovative viral marketing and psychological storytelling techniques.
- The Economist26 min
Warpath: Israel vows revenge on Hizbullah
Rosie Bloor, Anshul Pfeffer, Tom Sass, David Harrington, Paul Wianco
A rocket attack in the Golan Heights that killed twelve Druze children has intensified Middle East tensions, placing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under pressure to balance a necessary retaliation against Hezbollah with the strategic need to avoid all-out war while Gaza ceasefire negotiations proceed. Simultaneously, the UK faces a critical prison crisis with severe overcrowding and unsanitary conditions prompting the new Labour government to implement emergency early releases while pursuing long-term rehabilitation strategies to reverse decades of rising incarceration rates. In the cultural sector, the Kronos Quartet marks its fiftieth anniversary by retiring founding members, introducing new leadership, and launching a digital archive that prioritizes diverse commissions to fulfill its mission of expanding the classical repertoire.
- The Economist24 min
Bibi talk: a speech light on detail
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Anshul Pfeffer, Noor Gamani, Leora, Oret Okunbi, Gavin Jackson
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured a record 11 standing ovations during a strategic visit to the U.S. Congress to defend the Gaza war while facing domestic political pressure from high resignation polls. Despite emotional appeals regarding hostages, the address failed to outline a concrete post-war strategy or clarify Israel's stance on ongoing ceasefire negotiations, leaving key policy details undefined. The event underscored deep partisan divides, marked by President Biden's expected pressure for a truce and notable absences from high-profile U.S. political figures like Vice President Kamala Harris and J.D. Vance.
- The Economist26 min
Destruction instruction: Western armies learn from Gaza
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Shashank Joshi, Emma Irving, Andrew Kitness
Recent analysis of the Gaza conflict reveals that while Israel claims to have eliminated Mohamed Deif, the war continues to yield critical tactical lessons on urban defense, drone efficacy, and the complexities of fighting in tunnel networks that are reshaping Western military doctrine. Simultaneously, Silicon Valley remains divided over J.D. Vance, whose venture capital background and anti-regulation stance attract a core group of billionaire allies despite generating anxiety among broader tech executives concerning his protectionist trade policies. In Hong Kong, a distinct cultural phenomenon sees "haunted house" superstitions driving a 20% to 33% reduction in property values, forcing legal disclosure mandates and technological adaptations to manage a market where social isolation and rapid urbanization fuel ghost-related fears.
- All-In Podcast26 min
The Besties Take Napa | All-In Special
Speakers including David Friedberg, Chamath Palihapitiya, and David Sachs predict a future where AI enables small teams to rebuild the software stack by replacing human coding and administrative roles with automated workflows, potentially rendering traditional SaaS obsolete. The discussion highlights critical enterprise AI hurdles regarding data context windows, proposing Retrieval Augmented Generation as a necessary optimization, while advocating for an investment philosophy that favors intense focus on single verticals over diversified portfolios. These technical and strategic insights were exchanged at a high-cost Milan gathering, which also featured personal reflections on the "bionic" nature of work, poker as a decision-making tool, and a surprise birthday celebration for Friedberg.
- a16z24 min
Mark Casey (Capital Group): Public Market and Macro Perspectives
Capital's long-term value investing strategy employs a four-to-eight-year horizon and a compensation structure weighted toward multi-year results to prioritize earnings convergence over short-term market noise. The firm actively manages portfolio construction by identifying unstoppable secular trends like cloud computing and e-commerce while criticizing deceptive metrics such as adjusted EBITDA in favor of free cash flow per share. Additionally, the approach emphasizes superior capital allocation by citing industry leaders like Warren Buffett and Hock Tan, while maintaining bullish positions on high-moat fintech and semiconductors tied to the AI revolution.
- Goldman Sachs44 min
Private credit investing with Ares Management’s Mike Arougheti
CEO Mike Arrighetti leads Ares Management, a global alternative asset firm overseeing over $400 billion in assets and establishing itself as a premier direct lender through active origination strategies. Under his 2018 succession of co-founder Bennett Rosenthal, the firm has institutionalized a partnership culture while expanding its private credit footprint across aging demographics, regulatory shifts, and emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. Arrighetti projects the sector will sustain 10–15% annual growth driven by bank disengagement and infrastructure demands, a trajectory that aligns with the firm's focus on floating-rate resilience and its broader charitable initiatives.
- The Economist22 min
Keep Kamala and carry on: Harris’s smooth route
Kamala, Harris, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Daniel Franklin, Sam Colbert, Catherine Ferry
Kamala Harris has rapidly secured the Democratic nomination following Joe Biden's withdrawal, launching a campaign that has raised $81 million while shifting the primary strategy to attack Donald Trump as a convicted felon. Simultaneously, China's startup ecosystem faces a significant contraction as regulatory crackdowns and reduced foreign capital have cut unicorn creation rates in half, forcing new ventures into state-approved hard tech sectors. Meanwhile, the UK seaside economy is experiencing a price surge driven by construction restrictions and cultural attachment, with beach hut rentals in areas like Margate reaching £1,400 annually despite recent regulatory caps on second-home ownership.
- The Economist25 min
Joe of good faith: Biden bows out
Joe, Biden, Kamala Harris, Dr Ruth, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, John Priddo, Leo Morani, Anne Rowe, Jerry
Following a debate performance that eroded public confidence, President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 race and immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, positioning her to potentially become the first female president despite her lack of a proven national election record. While political analysts warn that the public still associates Harris with Biden's approval ratings and note her previous unsuccessful primary run, the party faces a competitive field led by governors and senators before the mid-August convention. Concurrently, the administration's legacy remains precarious as the upcoming election could overshadow recent legislative victories in climate and economic recovery, leaving the Democratic strategy to pivot on whether a competent opponent can capitalize on Donald Trump's polarizing nature.
- The Economist24 min
Dicky birds: the next pandemic?
Rosie Bloor, Rebecca Jackson, Kunal Patel, Adam Roberts
Former Judge Heather Hallett's pandemic inquiry report concluded that the UK government failed the public due to critically flawed preparedness, while scientists warn that H5N1's mammalian adaptations pose a distinct pandemic risk despite ongoing mRNA vaccine trials. New historical research from Ohio State University reveals that white women in New Orleans were active participants in the slave trade, utilizing the institution to accumulate independent wealth under 19th-century legal frameworks. Concurrently, The Economist has launched "Dateline," an interactive game designed to engage news-averse readers through historical archive challenges, and Editor-in-Chief Zannie Minton-Beddoes will address the aftermath of the Gaza war in the upcoming Weekend Intelligence.
- The Economist26 min
Veep show: America meets J.D. Vance
J.D. Vance, Donald Trump, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Adam O'Neill, Kinley Salmon, Kenneth Kukie
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance delivered a populist speech emphasizing his working-class roots and isolationist economic views to differentiate himself from Donald Trump and reshape the GOP's intellectual foundation. Meanwhile, economists identify Latin America's severe trade underperformance as a result of geographical barriers, economic homogeneity, and political fragmentation that limit intra-regional commerce. Finally, Kenneth Kukie argues that classic literature such as *The Trial* and *Macbeth* provides more profound insights into leadership and organizational chaos than contemporary management manuals.
- The Economist23 min
Food for thought: raising the world’s IQ
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Robert Guest, Shashank Joshi, Emily Steinmark
The event examines the critical impact of early-life malnutrition on cognitive development and global economics, highlighting the success of Uganda's NutriCash pilot and the potential for $12 billion in targeted investment to reverse slow progress. Concurrently, analysts assess growing geopolitical threats to the 600 undersea fiber-optic cables sustaining global telecommunications, noting state-sponsored sabotage risks from Russia and China alongside the strategic vulnerability of limited repair infrastructure. Finally, the discussion presents a breakthrough in menstrual product innovation where alginate polymers transform blood into a firm gel, marking the first significant design evolution since the 1931 applicator tampon.
- Goldman Sachs29 min
Canva CEO Melanie Perkins on growing an idea into a multibillion-dollar design company
Canva, led by co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, has scaled to serve 165 million users and 90% of Fortune 500 companies by leveraging a bottom-up adoption strategy and its proprietary Magic Studio for AI-driven design automation. The company recently pivoted toward "wall-to-wall" enterprise deployment while maintaining profitability, a trajectory supported by its strategic acquisition of visual AI firm Collido and a dedicated trust and safety framework. Guided by a dual mission of commercial growth and social impact, Canva plans to expand its ecosystem to one billion monthly active users by donating equity and profits to eradicate extreme poverty.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
A skeptical look at AI investment
Daron Acemoglu, Jim Covello, Alison Nathan
While Goldman Sachs projects generative AI could boost U.S. GDP by 6.1% over a decade, MIT's Darren Acemoglu and Goldman's Jim Covello warn that high infrastructure costs and technical limitations may restrict automation to less than 5% of tasks. Driven by fear of missing out in a competitive "arms race," major technology firms are currently pouring capital into GPU-heavy infrastructure despite the absence of a cost-effective "killer application," sparking concerns that the sector mirrors the overbuild of the 2000 internet bubble. Analysts emphasize that the next 12 to 18 months serve as a critical inflection point where the emergence of tangible business use cases will determine whether this trillion-dollar investment cycle results in sustained productivity gains or a sharp correction in valuations.
- Milken Institute30 min
A Conversation with Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan | Global Conference 2024
Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Kevin Herglotz, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Ali Velshi
Queen Rania addresses the global humanitarian crisis by warning that "us vs. them" polarization and unsustainable military operations in Rafah are driving toward large-scale civilian deaths and eroding prospects for peace. She rejects the narrative that the two-state solution is dead, instead attributing stagnation to a deficit of political will and explicitly condemning any forced transfer of Palestinians as a "second Nakba." Urging the United States to enforce international law rather than offering unconditional support, she argues that long-term Israeli security remains impossible without ending the illegal occupation and addressing the systematic injustices facing both populations.