Latest Interviews
Showing 3481–3487 of 3,487 transcripts.
Clear all filters- 80,000 Hours1h 19m
Aubrey de Grey: "The cost effectiveness of anti-aging research"
Aubrey de Grey proposes a "maintenance" strategy within the SENS framework to systematically repair seven categories of cellular damage, challenging the inevitability of aging by targeting its biological root causes rather than treating individual diseases. This approach aims to achieve "longevity escape velocity," a threshold where therapeutic advances outpace degeneration to eventually reduce mortality from aging to negligible levels comparable to accidents. By shifting billions in global healthcare spending toward preventative rejuvenation, the strategy promises to extend healthy lifespans significantly while mitigating economic costs and addressing ethical concerns regarding overpopulation and identity.
- 80,000 Hours1h 5m
Toby Ord: "In which career can you make the most difference?"
Philosopher Toby Ord utilizes a counterfactual framework to argue that individuals should strategically design careers to maximize positive impact rather than relying on abstract moral reasoning. He distinguishes high-value roles, such as professional philanthropy and policy advocacy, from traditional paths by emphasizing replaceability and the specific difference an individual makes compared to alternative outcomes. Ord concludes that investing minimal time in career planning can multiply lifetime contributions by thousands of times, encouraging people to join communities like 80,000 Hours to pursue these opportunities.
- Milken Institute1h 6m
Milken Institute/Google -- Innovation
Aneesh Chopra, Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Tony Fratto, Pablo Chavez, Brad Belk, Tony Prado, Shalina, Alayna Nolan, Tim Jarbo
Google and the Milken Institute co-hosted the maiden restart of "DC Talks," featuring a panel of experts including former U.S. CTO Anish Chopra and journalist Vijay Vaitheeswaran to dissect the role of government in fostering an innovation-driven economy. The discussion highlighted policy strategies such as open data initiatives, technology-neutral prizes, and infrastructure investment that have successfully accelerated adoption in sectors like health IT and renewable energy while emphasizing a shift from invention to value-creating fresh thinking. Looking forward, the speakers advocated for tolerance of failure, lifelong learning systems, and new accounting standards to recognize intangible assets as essential drivers for solving complex global challenges in the 21st century.
- Milken Institute1h 23m
California's Stem Cell Initiative: Mapping the New Frontier of Medicine
Scheduled for April 27–29 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the upcoming global conference will feature strategic updates from CIRM leadership, including discussions on $632.5 million in awarded grants and a new billion-dollar commitment to Disease Teams. The meeting also addresses critical logistical changes, such as a 10% attendance reduction to improve quality, alongside presentations on overcoming funding gaps caused by California's budget impasse. With key figures like Chris Ailman participating in related February events, the agenda emphasizes accelerating translational breakthroughs in stem cell therapies for conditions like spinal cord injury and diabetes while navigating complex regulatory landscapes.
- Milken Institute1h 20m
Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of Democracy
In a Milken Institute panel, ACLU President Susan Herman and Chapman Law School's John Eastman debated the post-9/11 expansion of state surveillance powers under the USA Patriot Act and the shifting legal frameworks of the Fourth Amendment. While Eastman defended expanded tools like roving wiretaps and enhanced interrogations as essential wartime necessities that successfully led to Osama bin Laden's death, Herman countered that these measures constitute ineffective "security theater" and have eroded civil liberties without proportional security benefits. The discussion ultimately highlighted deep partisan divides regarding the balance between national security and constitutional due process, particularly concerning the targeted killing of citizens and the indefinite detention of alleged combatants.
- Milken Institute1h 15m
The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream
Gary Shapiro contends that innovation must serve as the primary national strategy to resolve the U.S. fiscal crisis, arguing that traditional spending cuts and tax hikes are insufficient to address the unsustainable trajectories of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He advocates for specific reforms including strategic immigration of high-value STEM talent, the reduction of aggressive antitrust litigation that stifles companies like Boeing and Google, and the reallocation of capital from low-return stimulus projects to a dynamic economy driven by creative destruction. Shapiro challenges the government to leverage American heterogeneity and risk tolerance by joining the "Innovation Movement" to pressure leaders into prioritizing long-term growth over political convenience.
- Milken Institute1h 21m
Milken Institute Forum: Todd Buchholz
Todd Buchholz, Skip, Debbie, Dick Fredericks, Henny Youngman, E.F. Schumacher, Jimmy Carter, Robert Redford, Shirley Temple, Julia Child, Jackie Robinson, George Washington, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stalin, Daniel Gilbert, Richard Frank, Mandela, Steve Jobs, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Fidel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mark Twain, Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Jonas Salk, Watson, Crick, Harry, Lucille Ball, Ethel, Kiyosaki, Tom Cruise, Ozzie, Harriet, Beaver, Theodore Roosevelt, Milton Berle, Joe Biden, Yao Ming, John Taylor, Al Gore, John Mackey
Todd Buchholz argues that human rushing, biological stress, and economic competition are essential drivers of happiness, freedom, and historical progress, refuting narratives that advocate for retreat into simplicity. He supports this thesis with neuroscientific evidence showing that risk-taking stimulates cognitive function, historical data proving capitalism's role in extending life expectancy, and corporate case studies like General Motors illustrating the inefficiency of suppressed competition. Buchholz concludes that removing competitive pressure leads to stagnation and tyranny, while maintaining that freedom and merit-based incentives are necessary to sustain the ongoing rise in human prosperity and longevity.