Latest Interviews
Showing 61–75 of 84 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute26 min
Inclusive Capitalism Fireside Chats: A Conversation With John Rogers and Blair Smith
Jared Rogers, chairman of Ariel Investments and a descendant of Tulsa's historic Black business legacy, addresses the two-decade collapse of Chicago's Black corporate sector by leveraging his thirty-year tenure on major corporate boards to enforce accountability and diversity. To reverse this erasure, he spearheads strategic initiatives like Project Black, a private equity fund for scalable Black enterprises, alongside educational programs in the stock market and university endowments designed to cultivate the next generation of financial leaders. These efforts, supported by a sustained post-2020 shift in institutional commitment, aim to reconstruct the high-value economic ecosystem that once defined the city's Black business community.
- Milken Institute30 min
Building Community Wealth: How Can We Meet the Moment
Margot Brandenburg, Natalie Foster, Shawn Wooden
Ford Foundation host Margo Brandenburg facilitated a dialogue with Natalie Foster and Connecticut Treasurer Sean Wooden on utilizing community wealth strategies to address the widening racial and economic divide. Foster highlighted the Child Tax Credit's success in reducing child poverty while Wooden detailed Connecticut's pioneering Baby Bonds program as a model for closing the generational wealth gap through state-level innovation. The conversation further examined how public sector expansions of guaranteed income, social bonds, and anti-monopoly policies are reshaping labor markets and providing essential financial buffers during economic volatility.
- Milken Institute30 min
A Conversation with Brian Deese, Director, White House National Economic Council
Following the American Rescue Plan, the U.S. achieved historic economic growth in 2021, with GDP expansion between 5% and 6% and a significant decline in child poverty and evictions. Now, the administration is leveraging these funds alongside the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, led by Mitch Landrieu, to deploy 21st-century industrial strategies that address supply chain bottlenecks and accelerate private capital investment in clean energy. Despite current pressures from the Omicron variant and geopolitical instability, officials emphasize a "bottom-up" approach to sustain recovery while ensuring long-term climate resilience and regional equity.
- Milken Institute20 min
A Conversation With Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York
Kathy Hochul, Michael Piwowar, Richard Ravitch
Governor Hochul is fortifying New York State's fiscal reserves against potential crises while rejecting tax hikes to stem the out-migration of high-net-worth individuals. Simultaneously, she is collaborating with New York City Mayor Adams on subway safety initiatives and advancing the delayed congestion pricing plan to secure MTA funding. Her administration also prioritized keeping schools open during the Omicron surge through widespread testing and is incentivizing the construction of 100,000 affordable housing units to address long-term economic stability.
- Milken Institute26 min
Fintech in Focus: Michael Greenwald on the Digital Asset Space
Michael Greenwald, Kate Goldman
China is intensifying its crackdown on cryptocurrency transactions to consolidate state control and challenge the US dollar's global dominance, a move that pressures the Federal Reserve to accelerate digital dollar innovation despite internal divisions on the timeline. Analysts warn that without a coordinated "Digital Asset Bretton Woods" framework involving G7 allies and a proactive national security strategy, the US risks falling behind in the emerging geopolitical contest between authoritarian and non-authoritarian digital finance systems. Experts argue that achieving bipartisan legislative clarity and establishing a "Digital Asset Bill of Rights" will be essential to create a robust regulatory environment where centralized and decentralized payment rails can coexist.
- Milken Institute33 min
A Conversation with Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President and CEO James Bullard
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard explains that the U.S. economy is adapting to pandemic risks through endogenous behavioral changes rather than broad lockdowns, projecting output recovery to 90% of normal levels despite historical quarterly declines. Bullard contrasts his view of a new steady state with host Josh Barrow's concern over permanently lower living standards, while addressing the dual policy challenge of balancing business preservation with market dynamism. Furthermore, Bullard highlights the strategic necessity of preventing a secondary financial crisis and identifies eliminating racial unemployment gaps as a critical metric for ideal monetary policy outcomes.
- Milken Institute34 min
A Conversation with Strive Masiyiwa and Michael Milken
Strive Masiyiwa, Michael Milken
With Africa's population projected to reach 4 billion by 2100 and 12 million young entrants joining the workforce annually, the continent faces a critical imperative to modernize its fragmented economy and address high unemployment rates like the 29% in South Africa. Global tech giants and investors are capitalizing on unique innovations such as mobile money and blockchain to unify 54 currencies, while infrastructure projects connect the continent from Cape Town to Cairo alongside rapid 5G deployment. Strategic partnerships led by figures like Strive Maseiwa aim to train government leaders and expand private enterprise networks, positioning Africa as a primary future market despite capital shortages and the need to replace nearly 500 million traditional jobs.
- Milken Institute25 min
Mic'd Up - Part 1: Public Health Response to Coronavirus
This expert panel discusses the emerging COVID-19 outbreak, noting its official WHO naming to prevent stigmatization, approximately 45,000 confirmed cases primarily in China, and the critical lack of international access due to data transparency concerns. Speakers analyze divergent future scenarios ranging from endemic circulation to a global pandemic with a 2% fatality rate, while critiquing delayed WHO leadership and insufficient vaccine development timelines that may exceed a year. The discussion further addresses necessary public health strategies, including social distancing over universal masking, the economic risks of draconian travel restrictions, and the urgent need for rapid diagnostic deployment amid funding cycles that previously hampered preparedness.
- Milken Institute23 min
A Conversation with Paul Ryan
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan outlines a legislative agenda for a potential second Trump term focused on extending tax cuts, reforming healthcare, and modernizing infrastructure while navigating a consensus on technological decoupling with China. He attributes the 2017–2018 surge in bipartisan output to the administration's deregulatory approach and projects continued economic growth despite ongoing trade uncertainties. Ryan, now a university professor and policy founder, argues that economic stagnation drives current political polarization and warns against the erosion of meritocracy in favor of identity-based politics.
- Milken Institute25 min
Wednesday Lunch feat. Bill Cassidy
Bill Cassidy, Esther Krofa, Dan Diamond
At the Milken Institute's Future of Health Summit, Senator Bill Cassidy and Faster Cures' Esther Krofa discussed strategies to balance drug affordability with the financial incentives required for medical innovation. Cassidy defended the pharmaceutical industry against claims of excessive profitability while advocating for subscription-based pricing models and rejecting direct government negotiation as a threat to high-risk research. The dialogue highlighted specific legislative successes in closing rebate loopholes and ending gag clauses, concluding with a realistic assessment that a comprehensive drug pricing bill has a 60% probability of enactment by year-end.
- Milken Institute31 min
A Conversation with Mark Bradford and Michael Govan
Art critic and curator Bradford discusses his evolution from abstract expressionism to politically charged installations that challenge institutional norms and address social inequities. The conversation highlights his co-founding of Art + Practice, a non-profit transforming a former beauty parlor into a hybrid gallery and foster youth center in Leimert Park to serve marginalized communities. Through strategic partnerships with LACMA and a rejection of the "colonizing model," Bradford advocates for an integrated approach where artistic practice drives systemic change and resource redistribution.
- Milken Institute28 min
A Conversation with Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein, Mike Milken, Michael Milken
Calvin Klein co-founded his global fashion empire with early capital from childhood friend Barry Schwartz, eventually pioneering disruptive marketing strategies like the Brooke Shields "Nothing" campaign and unauthorized product placements to define an American, provocative brand identity. While the partnership with financier Michael Milken provided critical structural discipline during cash crunches, Klein also navigated legal controversies such as the "Kiddie Porn" investigation by prioritizing cultural conversation over traditional safety. Today, he reflects on how social media has compressed the industry timeline, distinguishing between fleeting celebrity brands and enduring legacy companies built on distinct style and consistent messaging.
- Milken Institute26 min
Across Sectors and Borders | Part 1: Building Tomorrow's Global Workforce
Mina Al-Oraibi, Jeff Maggioncalda, Solveig Nicklos
Established to address the region's 31% youth unemployment, the Abu Dhabi School of Government (ADSG) partnered with Coursera to deploy a localized, mobile-accessible platform delivering 3,000 courses from elite institutions to 60,000 government employees. This initiative integrates competency-based learning into performance management systems and extends "stepping stone" programs to reskill non-government job seekers, aiming to foster a culture of adaptability for future workforces. By shifting focus from static degrees to modular credentialing, the project aspires to serve as a scalable global model for upskilling workforces against rapid technological and economic shifts.
- Milken Institute20 min
Across Sectors and Borders | Part 2: Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Social Investing
Rich Ditizio, Edgar Bronfman Jr., Richard D'Atizio
Bronfman outlines a transformative economic landscape where technology disrupts traditional music distribution, while the Endeavor Global network leverages mentorship to sustainably scale entrepreneurship across 33 countries. Simultaneously, he argues that addressing climate change requires moving beyond emission reduction to mass-scale Direct Air Capture, utilizing modular technology to economically sequester billions of tons of CO2 annually. Together, these strategies exemplify an impact investing philosophy that rejects the compromise between social good and profit, insisting that scalable solutions must generate financial returns to drive global transformation.
- Milken Institute27 min
A Conversation with Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster, Facebook, and the Parker Foundation
Sean Parker, Hadley Gamble, Katie O'Reilly
Milken Institute leaders and entrepreneur Sean Parker convened at the annual MENA Summit to outline strategic economic initiatives, including upcoming events in Japan and Los Angeles, while addressing critical intersections of healthcare, technology, and ethics. Parker detailed his $400 million commitment to cancer immunotherapy and warned of impending societal crises driven by CRISPR accessibility, predicting that the U.S. will allocate 50% of its GDP to healthcare by 2080 due to aging demographics and biological complexity. The dialogue further examined contrarian investment opportunities in underserved markets, the accelerating convergence of AI and life sciences, and the urgent need for regulatory frameworks to govern germline editing and data privacy.