Latest Interviews

Remarks by Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg, John F.W. Rogers, Kevin McCarthy, Tyler Perry, Danny Meyer, Sarah Kauss, Wilbur L. Ross, Sara Blakely, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg chronicled the analog origins of his firm and argued that the American "ethic of trying again" remains the primary driver of economic resilience. He sharply criticized current U.S. immigration and regulatory policies for threatening the small business sector, which historically serves as the incubator for future large-scale corporations and employs millions of immigrant-owned enterprises. Bloomberg concluded with a direct call to action, urging entrepreneurs to aggressively lobby elected officials for open immigration and reduced red tape to ensure sustained economic growth.

Remarks by The Honorable Wilbur L. Ross

Wilbur L. Ross, John F.W. Rogers, Kevin McCarthy, Tyler Perry, Danny Meyer, Sarah Kauss, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett

The event highlights the pivotal role of small and medium-sized enterprises in generating 63% of new jobs while detailing policy shifts that reduced regulatory burdens and altered tax structures for flow-through entities. Federal initiatives have intensified trade enforcement by 80% and deployed foreign commercial teams in 73 domestic and international locations to overcome export participation barriers that currently limit less than 3% of American businesses. These efforts, validated by case studies like Kaddis Enterprises' 400% growth, emphasize leveraging e-commerce and active marketing to facilitate business succession and global expansion.

How does sci-fi influence the real world?

Martin Cooper, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Paul McAuley, Syd Mead

Prominent innovators like Martin Cooper, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk have directly translated science fiction concepts from works such as *Star Trek* and *Blade Runner* into tangible technologies ranging from mobile phones to Mars colonization efforts. By examining the mechanical viability strategies of designers like Sid Mead and the ethical warnings embedded in narratives about AI and virtual reality, industry leaders utilize the genre to anticipate both technological trajectories and societal risks. Ultimately, the event highlights how a sci-fi foundation drives real-world innovation while serving as a crucial cautionary framework for navigating future ethical dilemmas.

How did Kosovo become a country?

Slobodan Milosevic, Petric Salimi

Following a brutal 1999 NATO intervention triggered by Serbian crackdowns and the Racak massacre, Kosovo declared independence in 2008 to establish a fragile democracy with a 33% unemployment rate. The nation remains deeply divided along ethnic lines as tens of thousands of Serbs fled, while the remaining minority continues to reject statehood and align with Belgrade. Despite these persistent tensions, both Kosovo and Serbia are pursuing European Union membership, recognizing that resolving their shared violent history is a prerequisite for regional integration.

Winter sports are facing many challenges. Can they survive?

Rising temperatures and shifting consumer preferences are driving a decline in traditional European winter sports markets, threatening resorts that rely heavily on natural snow. In response, the industry is pivoting toward energy-intensive artificial snowmaking and seeking growth in Asia, where markets in China and South Korea are expanding despite their own climate challenges. This adaptation strategy aims to preserve mountain economies and secure future participation, though it risks increasing costs for consumers and creating a feedback loop that further accelerates environmental degradation.

The Autonomy Ecosystem: Energy (4 of 8)

Frank Chen

The global energy sector is navigating a dual transition toward electric, self-driving fleets while conflicting forecasts from the IEA, Bloomberg, and major oil firms debate the timing of peak petroleum demand. Meeting this shift would require adding roughly 468 gigawatts of generation capacity and constructing new charging infrastructure, all while overcoming critical supply constraints in cobalt sourcing from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Strategic responses include capital investments in battery manufacturing, the development of alternative chemistries by researchers like Professor John Goodenough, and alliances between automakers and traditional dealers to redefine fleet service models.

Returning ISIS fighters: How should governments deal with them?

James Mattis, Usama Hasan, Bashar al-Assad, Vera Mironova

With the territorial collapse of the Caliphate, approximately 6,000 European nationals have returned from Syria, creating urgent security challenges for Western governments that must balance due process against the high risks of prison-based radicalization and unmonitored reintegration. While nations like the United Kingdom and France utilize citizenship deprivation and incarceration, pilot programs in Denmark attempt to mitigate threat levels through rehabilitation and social support, a strategy critics argue lacks sufficient evidence given the severe potential for lone-wolf atrocities. Governments now face a resource-constrained dilemma in allocating limited surveillance manpower to specific high-risk individuals versus preparing for a strategic shift by ISIS toward increased global terrorism.

Facial recognition technology will change the way we live

In 2018, advancements in machine learning and the integration of biometrics into consumer smartphones propelled facial recognition from niche development to mainstream adoption. While commercial applications expanded globally from tracking retail habits in the West to managing a 700 million-person database in China, researchers warned that the technology's ability to covertly identify individuals and infer personal attributes poses significant threats to privacy and civil liberties. Consequently, the year emerged as a critical juncture for establishing regulatory frameworks to balance security benefits against the risks of non-consensual surveillance.

Transforming cities with technology

Fabio Duarte, Caitlin Dolkaert, Nick Mokua

With global urbanization driving 900 million people into slums and cities consuming three-quarters of world energy, the smart city sector is surging toward a $1.5 trillion valuation by leveraging real-time data networks. Innovators in Seoul, Nairobi, and Boston demonstrate this shift by deploying integrated sensor systems to optimize transportation, coordinate emergency services, and detect public health crises through sewage and infrastructure monitoring. These initiatives prioritize using data to "make people smarter," directly addressing affordability, traffic gridlock, and opioid surges without relying solely on hardware deployment.

Highlights | A Conversation with George W. Bush

George W. Bush, Michael Milken

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice outlined her multifaceted career initiatives, ranging from a $15 billion HIV/AIDS strategy that prioritized local agency over paternalism to the creation of the Presidential Leadership Scholars program designed to cultivate community-based problem solvers. Her presentation also detailed a personal artistic endeavor to portray veteran trauma and a defense of the No Child Left Behind Act against critics of federal educational accountability. Furthermore, Rice warned that modern populist anti-immigrant sentiments echo the protectionist Smoot-Hawley tariffs of the late 1920s, which historically exacerbated the Great Depression, while asserting that universal freedom remains the most reliable path to lasting peace.

The deep ocean is the final frontier on planet Earth

Bobby Moore, Greg stone, Jim Delgado

Utilizing the US government vessel *Okeanos Explorer* and its advanced *Deep Discover* ROV, an international team is investigating the World War I-era submarine wreck of the S-19 while contending with extreme pressures and critical technical failures. Although scientists hope to uncover clues about the origins of life in deep-sea ecosystems and assess the economic potential of rare earth mineral mining, they simultaneously document pervasive marine debris to underscore the urgency of stewarding these fragile environments. This mission highlights the accelerating race to explore the uncharted depths, balancing historical discovery and resource extraction against the need to protect the ocean's closed-system integrity.

Discover Colombo: travel in the fastest-growing city in the world

Sonali Dharmavardana, Darshan Munitasa, Gabby White

Following the end of its civil war, Colombo is rapidly transforming into the world's fastest-growing city destination through a fusion of heritage preservation and modern creative industries. Key figures such as celebrity chef Darshan Muniasami, fashion designer Sonali Dharmavardana, and former cricketer Kumar Sangakkara are driving this renaissance by revitalizing culinary identity and showcasing the unique blend of colonial architecture with contemporary lifestyle in venues like the Ministry of Crab. Local experts and residents now urge immediate international engagement, positioning the current moment as a unique window for travelers to experience the city's authentic cultural depth before these rapid developments become fully mainstream.

The future of the car industry

Bhavish Aggarwal, Shantam, David Rust

Global ride-hailing platforms like India's Ola and the United States' Lyft are driving a fundamental shift in consumer behavior where smartphone access has replaced car ownership as the primary mode of urban transport. This disruption forces traditional automotive manufacturers, including Ford and General Motors, to pivot from hardware-centric models to software-driven mobility solutions and strategic partnerships to survive the transition toward shared, autonomous fleets. As a result, the industry's revenue dynamics are reconfiguring, compelling legacy players to innovate with self-driving technology or risk obsolescence in a market increasingly defined by processing power rather than horsepower.

Body Builders: the science and technology of bionic limbs

Hilda Einersdottir, Gummy, David Johnson, Farmer David Ingvason, Gunner

Iceland is emerging as the global hub for the bionics industry, where companies like Ossur are deploying brain-controlled prosthetics that translate subconscious neural signals into intuitive movement. Pioneering trials with users ranging from farmers to 92-year-olds have validated the technology's ability to restore mobility in high-stress and aging populations, with the Power Knee offering rotational force comparable to a motorcycle. Driven by medical necessity and a market projected to exceed $20 billion within five years, engineers anticipate a major leap in capabilities over the next decade toward fully autonomous thought-driven systems.

Meat Makers: the artificial beef revolution

Professor Mark Post, Ethan Brown, Bill Gates, John, Simone, Greg Boland, Peter

Facing the $1 trillion global meat market and its environmental impact, cellular agriculture pioneer Mark Post and Beyond Meat's Ethan Brown are pursuing divergent strategies to decouple meat production from animal slaughter. While Post focuses on scaling lab-grown muscle tissue from stem cells, Brown employs plant-based extraction to engineer sensory profiles that mimic animal fat and texture for mass adoption. Despite facing distinct technical hurdles in texture, flavor, and price, both leaders aim to execute a food revolution comparable to the shift from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles.