Latest Interviews

Putin's Russia and the ghost of the Romanovs

Putin, Romanovs

On the centenary of the Bolshevik execution of the Romanov family, Russian President Vladimir Putin navigates a political dilemma by promoting a revisionist narrative that frames Russia as a continuous state under an all-powerful autocrat, thereby sidestepping the condemnation of the 1917 revolution that established the modern state. This approach leverages an alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church to legitimize Putin's centralization of power and domestic repression, contrasting sharply with the 1998 efforts to acknowledge the Tsarist murder as a crime. Despite the current stability of his regime through military conflicts and the erosion of the Duma's authority, historical precedents suggest the unpredictability of Russia's governmental systems.

Mariya Nurislamova, Founder of Scentbird at the Female Founders Conference

Mariya Nurislamova, Maria

Sunbird successfully transformed from a failed recommendation algorithm into a subscription fragrance rental service after pivoting to a $15 monthly model inspired by Y Combinator's Michael Seibel. The company overcame early operational hurdles and significant fundraising rejections by leveraging a scarcity strategy to secure $150,000, eventually achieving acceptance into Y Combinator and raising a total of $25 million in capital. This strategic evolution enabled the team to scale operations to 250,000 users and expand internationally while adopting a high-performance hiring philosophy.

Reshma Shetty, Founder of Ginkgo Bioworks at the Female Founders Conference

Reshma Shetty

Ginkgo Bioworks, a Boston-based female-founded unicorn, leverages the digital nature of DNA to program organisms with sub-nanometer precision while advising founders to raise substantial capital only under strict fiscal discipline to avoid the pitfalls of organizational bloat. The company distinguishes its scaling strategy by enforcing efficiency through a "Scrooge McDuck" leadership role and a "Mission to Metrics" framework that explicitly links its core goal of making biology easier to engineer with quantitative measures like output per employee. This approach allows Ginkgo to decouple commercial growth from headcount expansion, thereby mitigating non-linear interpersonal conflicts and sustaining a competitive advantage despite rapid organizational expansion.

Women and the Saudi revolution

Zanny Minton Beddoes, Noor Shabib, Hoda al-Halaissi

Led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is executing a rapid top-down modernization strategy that lifts social restrictions like the ban on women driving while simultaneously centralizing political power and suppressing dissent. Although these reforms aim to diversify the oil-dependent economy by integrating the majority-female university graduate workforce, they face significant risks from religious puritans, rival royals, and a volatile youth population whose aspirations remain unmet by the regime's refusal to democratize. The success of this delicate balancing act is critical, as a stable, moderate Saudi Arabia could significantly enhance regional security and offer a counter-narrative to extremist interpretations of Islam globally.

The Results Are In: Predictive Technology and Your DNA Map

Christopher Mason

Led by geneticist Christopher Mason, a global team at the Milken Conference initiated a "metropoleome" project by collecting and sequencing phone swabs from 96 participants to map the genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of public surfaces. The resulting analysis of over 2,000 species and 560 resistance markers revealed that microbial profiles on mobile devices correlate strongly with lifestyle factors such as smoking, household size, and ancestry. With the full dataset of 1,000 samples scheduled for release within two weeks, the study establishes a vital global baseline for tracking antibiotic resistance genes and inferring dietary habits through mobile metagenomics.

Can eco-tourism help save the ocean?

Marit Miner, Ahmad

In Indonesia's Coral Triangle, the Mizzul Marine Protected Area transitioned from a poached wasteland to a thriving ecosystem through a private-enterprise model founded by Andrew and Marit Miners. This initiative employs over 200 locals in conservation and tourism roles, utilizing ocean rangers to enforce a no-take ban that has boosted shark populations by 25 times and increased marine biomass by 600%. By generating revenue that exceeds former fishing income, the project demonstrates a scalable financial argument for biodiversity protection that local communities now control.

Can technology save the rarest creatures on the planet?

Douglas McCauley, Doug

UC Santa Barbara marine science professor Douglas Macaulay is deploying a NASA-derived facial recognition algorithm to non-invasively identify individual giant sea bass through unique spot patterns, successfully cataloging 115 of the roughly 500 remaining individuals. This "Facebook for fish" system provides critical evidence of anthropogenic injuries and migration routes that expose the inadequacy of current marine protected areas covering only 3.7% of the ocean. By bridging marine biology and Silicon Valley computer science, Macaulay aims to generate the robust data necessary to advocate for expanded conservation zones and secure a long-term future for this near-extinct species.

Can a cure for diabetes be found through surgery?

Peter Hansel, Professor Francesco Rubino

Despite the global surge of Type 2 diabetes affecting one in ten people by 2040, Professor Francesco Rubino's research demonstrates that gastric bypass surgery can induce immediate remission by correcting duodenal hormone signaling rather than relying solely on weight loss. While only 0.1% to 1% of eligible patients currently access this life-saving procedure, Rubino is leading clinical trials on non-invasive alternatives and driving updates to international guidelines that recognize surgery as a primary treatment option. This work provides critical biological evidence that challenges the "lifestyle disease" narrative, offering a pathway for future pharmaceutical cures to address the epidemic without requiring invasive intervention.

El Salvador's violent gang members are finding God in prison

Wilfredo Gómez

Following his deportation from the U.S. to El Salvador in 1996, former 18th Street gang member Wilfredo Gómez founded a Christian prison ministry that expanded to house over 900 inmates within a violent, overcrowded system. While the program offered temporary sanctuary and social mobility through a segregated religious zone, its long-term success remains limited as societal stigma and a lack of employment opportunities prevent most converts from maintaining their faith outside prison. Ultimately, the initiative highlights a critical gap between individual rehabilitation within the jail and the structural barriers preventing former gang members from achieving permanent reintegration into Salvadoran society.

When thoughts control machines

Brain-computer interface projects led by entities such as the U.S. Brain Initiative, Kernel, Neuralink, and DARPA are rapidly advancing from controlling prosthetics to decoding entire neural circuits with the goal of restoring motor function for paralyzed patients. As these technologies evolve to read and write neural codes, experts highlight critical ethical imperatives regarding neuroprivacy and the prevention of a societal capability gap between enhanced humans and artificial intelligence. The immediate focus remains on medical recovery, while long-term aspirations address the profound necessity of co-evolving with machines to ensure equitable access and safeguard human autonomy against the rapid pace of technological development.

Ireland: divided by abortion

On May 25th, Irish voters will decide whether to repeal the Eighth Amendment, a 1983 constitutional provision that currently bans abortion except when the mother's life is at risk. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and pro-choice advocates, citing the unsafe nature of current cross-border travel and shifting public sentiment, support legalization up to the twelfth week, while pro-life campaigners warn that removing the amendment permanently prevents future legislative control. With recent polls showing the electorate is nearly evenly split, this referendum represents a definitive test of Ireland's transition toward a secular society or its retention of traditional conservative values.

Exploring and protecting the Antarctic

Dr. Susan Lockhart, John Hosevar

Dr. Susan Lockhart and co-pilot John Hosevar achieved the first human submersion in the Antarctic Weddell Sea, where their observations of fragile ecosystems like deep-sea sponges contradicted assumptions that the deep seabed was barren. Their data revealing the extreme vulnerability of these communities to industrial fishing underscores the urgent need to expand global ocean protection beyond the current 3.7%. This evidence is now poised for a critical Antarctic Commission vote in July 2018, where unanimous consensus from member states could establish the region as the world's largest no-fishing zone despite historical delays in such approvals.

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.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy: Standing Up for Small Businesses

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

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican with deep roots in the state's energy and agricultural sectors, outlines his journey from early entrepreneurial ventures to crafting bipartisan legislation like the Jobs Act. He argues that small businesses are the nation's primary job creators and urges owners to build direct, sustained relationships with lawmakers to overcome capital and training hurdles. Drawing on historical symbolism from the Gettysburg Address and Washington Crossing the Delaware, McCarthy concludes by calling for cross-party collaboration to address long-term challenges and forge a more perfect union.