Latest Interviews
Showing 1–11 of 11 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Goldman Sachs35 min
Sebastian Junger, Journalist, Documentary Filmmaker, Author of Freedom
Sebastian Junger, Vani Kasanoff
Sebastian Younger, a former trade worker turned journalist and veteran witness to Ahmad Shah Massoud, explores the psychological duality of war and the necessity of personal sacrifice for genuine freedom. He critiques modern individualism and opportunistic leadership while advocating for Veterans Town Hall events to bridge the moral divide between soldiers and civilians. Younger's perspective is further anchored by his own survival of a near-fatal aneurysm, which reinforced his belief that the precarious nature of life demands a communal responsibility transcending political or religious frameworks.
- Goldman Sachs26 min
Jia Lynn Yang, Author of "One Mighty and Irresistible Tide"
Rooted in the racist eugenics of the 1924 Immigration Act, U.S. immigration policy evolved over decades to prioritize national security and Cold War ideology until President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. This landmark legislation dismantled ethnic quotas in favor of family reunification and skilled labor preferences, inadvertently triggering massive demographic shifts from Asia, Africa, and Latin America despite original intentions to maintain a white demographic majority. Today, the legacy of these laws continues to shape contentious political debates regarding American identity, refugee admissions, and the ethical balance between open borders and selective restriction.
- Goldman Sachs33 min
Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Professor of History, Race and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School
Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Dan Hibbert
Harvard historian Khalil Gibran Muhammad joined Goldman Sachs to dissect the historical roots of systemic racism, tracing modern policing to slave patrols and explaining how racial capitalism sustains a ten-to-one wealth gap between Black and white families. Muhammad distinguished current protests from the Civil Rights era by their unprecedented white participation and argued that lasting change requires the private sector to move beyond reputational philanthropy toward dismantling the political power structures that protect inequality. He concluded that bridging this divide demands a national confrontation with American history, urging universal bias education and the transfer of power from police institutions to local communities to address the true causes of social stratification.
- Goldman Sachs25 min
Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
The World Health Organization has classified the emerging coronavirus as a global emergency after transmission spread to nearly 30 countries through both travel and community contact. With no vaccine or specific treatment available, containment relies on isolation and surveillance, though data interpretation remains complicated by shifting case definitions and the virus's high respiratory transmissibility. While vaccine candidates from companies like Sanofi and J&J are in development, experts warn that the outbreak could trigger a second wave upon social reopening and underscore the urgent need for sustained investment in global public health infrastructure.
- Goldman Sachs39 min
Dr. Denis Mukwege, Nobel Laureate and Founder of Panzi Hospital
Denis Mukwege, Dr. Dennis Mukwege
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege operates Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a comprehensive four-pillar model has treated over 50,000 sexual violence victims through integrated surgical, psychological, economic, and legal interventions. Facing systematic warfare tactics designed to dismantle community structures and the complicity of local authorities in mineral-fueling militia crimes, Mukwege has pivoted from exclusive clinical care to prominent global advocacy following a 2012 assassination attempt. By empowering survivors to transition from victims to activists through economic reintegration and the pursuit of non-retributive justice, the hospital challenges impunity while Dr. Mukwege continues to demand international action against the silence perpetuating these atrocities.
- Goldman Sachs30 min
Evan Thomas: Author, "First: Sandra Day O’Connor"
Evan Thomas, Sandra Day O'Connor
Appointed by President Reagan as the Supreme Court's first female justice, Sandra Day O'Connor leveraged her background as a state legislator and political network builder to become the decisive swing vote in roughly 330 major cases. Her judicial philosophy emphasized strategic compromise and bridge-building, yielding landmark rulings that prohibited gender discrimination in state institutions, refined the "undue burden" standard for abortion rights, and upheld affirmative action. O'Connor transformed the Court's internal culture into a cohesive body through weekly lunches and served as a critical mentor to future female justices, proving that practical negotiation could achieve significant legal progress without rigid ideological activism.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee: Genetically Mapping the Future of Cancer
Siddhartha Mukherjee, Richard Manley
Dr. Siddharth Mukherjee outlines a paradigm shift in oncology where cancer is treated as a portfolio of distinct conditions managed through prevention, targeted early detection, and immunotherapy rather than a single curable entity. Advances in genetic engineering have moved the field from simply sequencing DNA to actively editing sequences, enabling cures for single-gene disorders and transforming historically lethal cancers like metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer into manageable chronic conditions. This revolution, driven by the ability to replace nucleotides and alter cellular environments, marks a historical transition comparable to the dawn of the computer age in its capacity to redefine human health.
- Goldman Sachs32 min
Talks at GS: Malcolm Gladwell on the Art of Storytelling – From Print to Podcasts
In this wide-ranging discussion, Malcolm Gladwell explains how the immersive nature of podcasting enabled him to transition from print journalism to the non-fiction series *Revisionist History*, where he explores counterproductive outcomes by well-intentioned people. He details specific investigations into the University of Pennsylvania football scandal, the economic paradox of private country clubs, and the NIH's innovative response to the AIDS epidemic while defending the ad-supported audio model. Finally, Gladwell outlines the central thesis of his upcoming book *Talking to Strangers*, which examines the "default to truth" bias through the lens of the Madoff scandal and discusses his personal views on academic research and standardized testing.
- Goldman Sachs21 min
Remarks by Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett, John F.W. Rogers, Kevin McCarthy, Tyler Perry, Danny Meyer, Sarah Kauss, Wilbur L. Ross, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson
At LaGuardia Community College, an 87-year-old speaker honored the resilience of diverse students by recounting the historic rises of Rose Blumpkin and Jack Taylor, who built billion-dollar empires from minimal capital through relentless customer service. The presentation detailed how Blumpkin grew a Nebraska furniture market to $1.5 billion in annual revenue and how Taylor transformed a small car lease operation into Enterprise Rent-A-Car, surpassing all major competitors by prioritizing experience over price. Ultimately, the address argued that sustainable growth depends on cultivating a culture where employees are valued and customers are delighted, urging the graduating class to prioritize self-improvement and associate with superior role models.
- Goldman Sachs25 min
Amy Chua: Political Tribalism and American Foreign Policy
Yale Law professor Amy Chua analyzes global and domestic group dynamics through her concept of the "supergroup," contrasting the United States' unique ability to balance national unity with subgroup flourishing against the assimilationist models of France and China. She attributes rising U.S. political polarization to demographic shifts that have created defensive tribalism between coastal elites and the white majority, a division she attributes to a rhetorical shift from universalism to identity politics. Chua concludes by proposing practical remedies such as a national service "gap year" to foster intergroup interaction and arguing that allowing controversial speech prevents extremism from festering in epistemological silos.
- Goldman Sachs35 min
Dr. Eric Kandel, Nobel Prize-winning Neuroscientist: Talks at GS Session Highlights
A comprehensive analysis of memory systems distinguishes between localized brain functions, such as Broca's and Wernicke's areas, and the dual nature of memory identified in patient H.M. as either explicit or implicit. Research into storage mechanisms reveals that long-term memory relies on the CREB transcription factor and RBAB48 protein to physically grow synaptic connections, while age-related decline stems from a specific deficit in the dentate gyrus distinct from Alzheimer's pathology. This decline is reversible through interventions like injecting osteocalcin or engaging in physical exercise, which boost necessary protein levels to restore cognitive function in aged models.