Latest Interviews
Showing 1156–1170 of 2,162 transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist11 min
Should we be worried about technology?
Speaker highlights the cyclical historical pattern of technological optimism and backlash, noting that current "tech lash" sentiments mirror past shifts from Victorian Luddite protests to 1990s dot-com utopianism. The presentation argues that technology itself lacks inherent agency, asserting that societal outcomes depend on human application and that regulatory frameworks must evolve through real-time "sandbox approaches" to manage rapid innovation. To address modern challenges like the climate crisis, the speaker advocates for a measured strategy where further technological solutions, such as geoengineering and electric vehicles, are employed to solve problems created by previous innovations.
- The Economist7 min
What is net zero?
Over fifty nations and major global entities have committed to the Paris Agreement goal of balancing greenhouse gas emissions with removals by the mid-to-late 21st century, a target essential for curbing the annual 40-billion-tonne carbon output of the current economy. While established methods like reforestation offer immediate relief, the strategy increasingly relies on unproven negative emission technologies to handle hard-to-abate sectors, creating a strategic risk that delayed emission cuts will be offset by future innovations. This transition faces significant hurdles, including disputes over accountability between historic and emerging emitters and the absence of universal accounting policies, leaving the achievement of net zero as a complex endeavor requiring unprecedented global cooperation beyond mere technological solutions.
- The Economist8 min
Henry Kissinger: how Biden should handle China
Henry Kissinger outlines a precarious escalation in US-China tensions, warning that mutually exclusive narratives on hegemony and interference require a foundational agreement to exclude high-tech warfare and enforce mutual restraint. He evaluates the Biden administration's diplomatic tone as an improvement over the previous era, yet notes that its approach remains a strategic balancing act between domestic political pressures and the urgent international necessity of coexistence. Kissinger concludes that the unique challenge of sustaining a relationship between a democratic United States and a "Confucian Marxist" China demands the explicit definition of specific issues rather than reliance on a rules-based order that is not currently applied to Beijing.
- Goldman Sachs16 min
Ali Ghodsi, Co-Founder and CEO of Databricks
Databricks CEO Ali Ghadzi outlines a strategy for enterprises to leverage data and AI as the "early first inning" of industry disruption, guided by a leadership philosophy rooted in empathy and a corporate culture of customer obsession. The company employs a self-cannibalization innovation model that open-sources core technologies like Spark and MLflow to drive adoption while monetizing secure, high-performance SaaS services that reduce total cost of ownership by up to 100x. Ghadzi advises organizations to immediately build foundational data infrastructure on the cloud and rely on open-source standards to avoid vendor lock-in, ensuring they can fully capitalize on the inevitable integration of AI into all software.
- Goldman Sachs7 min
The ESG Case for E-Commerce
Goldman Sachs Research highlights three primary tensions between e-commerce expansion and ESG goals: carbon efficiency from consolidated logistics, packaging waste accounting for 20% of the market's total, and opaque labor conditions within rapidly growing fulfillment networks. While delivery fleets transition to low-emission vehicles, industry leaders like Amazon and MercadoLibre are launching pilots to address plastic recycling and reusable container systems, though significant challenges in workforce transparency remain unresolved. The firm advises investors to demand standardized data on job quality and cyber risks to mitigate potential regulatory and reputational exposures as the sector's reliance on customer data intensifies.
- Goldman Sachs16 min
Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO of Bumble
Founded by Whitney Wolf Hurd in 2014, the dating platform Bumble became the first company led by a woman under 31 to go public in 2021, currently serving over 40 million users globally. The company differentiates itself by requiring women to initiate conversations in heterosexual matches and has expanded into platonic and professional networking through its BFF and Bizz features, supported by a strategy that blends digital interaction with physical venues like its Soho coffee shop pilot. Backed by a core mission to foster safe, equitable connections, Bumble leverages its brand trust to target a total addressable market extending far beyond traditional dating into health and wellness as part of its long-term vision.
- Goldman Sachs12 min
Behind the Numbers: Goldman Sachs’ CFO on Second Quarter Earnings Results
Goldman Sachs reported a robust second quarter driven by record investment banking backlog levels, $1 billion in equity underwriting revenues, and a 18% return on equity in global markets. The firm is accelerating a strategic transition toward a fund-format model while prioritizing capital returns through doubled dividends and variable share repurchases to support stock value. Despite facing macroeconomic, geopolitical, and cybersecurity risks, management remains confident in the outlook, noting a significant return to physical office collaboration and strong sponsor-led M&A activity.
- Goldman Sachs18 min
Avi Loeb, Professor and Author
Physicist Avi Loeb argues that anomalous data regarding the interstellar object Oumuamua and recent Pentagon-reported UAPs warrants rigorous investigation despite mainstream skepticism favoring conventional natural explanations. He critiques the dismissal of unexplained phenomena by prominent scientists, asserting that prejudice hinders scientific progress and calling for the creation of open datasets to facilitate transparent analysis. Complementing this advocacy for inquiry, Loeb co-chairs the Breakthrough Starshot initiative, a project designed to propel gram-scale light-sail spacecraft to Proxima Centauri at 20% the speed of light within two decades.
- The Economist10 min
Covid-19: why your life will never be the same again
The Economist has developed a global normality index tracking behavioral shifts across 50 nations in transport, leisure, and business to quantify the transition from pandemic restrictions to post-pandemic norms. Historical precedents like the Black Death and the 1918 flu inform the analysis of how health crises drive structural change, while current data suggests a hybrid world is emerging where retail habits and office occupancy permanently settle between pre-pandemic levels and new digital realities. Although long-term outcomes depend on future vaccine efficacy, the index confirms that society is moving toward a "normality tracker" that captures simultaneous acceleration of remote work and revival of mid-century trends like drive-throughs.
- Goldman Sachs6 min
At the Half: Taking Stock of Market Performance and Themes to Watch Ahead
During Q2 2021, global equity markets delivered robust double-digit gains driven by a significant value-over-growth rotation and surging European capital inflows that have reached their highest levels since 2015. Hedge funds, systematic quant strategies, and mutual funds all posted strong year-to-date returns, coinciding with record-breaking ESG asset growth and a buoyant outlook for M&A activity fueled by over $2 trillion in available dry powder. While historical data suggests favorable momentum for the remainder of the year, investors are beginning to moderate risk appetite as the market navigates potential inflation concerns and the absence of a standardized global ESG framework.
- Goldman Sachs19 min
James Citrin, Leader, Spencer Stuart North American CEO Practice
James Citrin, David, Jim Citrin
Spencer Stewart's analysis identifies the "20-80 Principle" as a key differentiator where top 1% performers redefine roles by initiating unrequested value-add projects, a strategy that extends from interns to CEOs. The discussion also addresses the "Permission Paradox" by showcasing how candidates like Jim Citrin manufactured specific experiences to secure roles, alongside the RAMP model for hybrid leadership that balances relationships with rigorous processes. Finally, organizational leaders such as those at Goldman Sachs and Google emphasize clear return-to-office mandates and protected discretionary time to drive innovation and prevent workforce ambiguity.
- Goldman Sachs8 min
Europe in Vogue: What’s Driving Stronger Flows into European Equity
Driven by the EU Recovery Fund, rapid vaccine rollouts, and aggressive fiscal support, European equities are experiencing their strongest inflows since 2015 as structural headwinds of slow growth and low inflation recede. Analysts forecast 40–50% earnings growth this year, fueled by a strategic pivot toward digital economy companies and decarbonization initiatives that are attracting ESG-focused funds and foreign capital. While domestic institutional investors remain under-allocated due to a historical preference for fixed income, the sector is poised for a structural recovery by aligning with global innovation trends and addressing a decade of underperformance.
- All-In Podcast10 min
Leaked tapes: Sacks vs. Jason origins | All-In After Party on Callin
Sacks, Jason, Chamath, Calacanis, Friedberg, Dylan, Henry, J.K.L., Tucker, Ringo
During a recent "All-In" episode, panelists David Sacks, Henry Blodget, and David Pakman publicly criticized host Jason Calacanis for aggressive, non-even-handed interruptions that forced complex arguments into soundbites while allowing Chamath Palihapitiya to speak without constraint. In defense of his style, Calacanis claimed the chaos prevents boring segments and drives the show's top ratings, a tension that necessitates the panelists' editing work to reconstruct coherent narratives. The discussion further covered Calacanis's beta app "Call In," a dispute over the financial compensation for editors, and an unresolved debate regarding the establishment of specific time limits for uninterrupted speaking.
- The Economist10 min
Mass extinction: what can stop it?
Experts warn that human reliance on deteriorating ecological networks, with one million species at risk of extinction, poses an immediate threat to global food security and climate stability. While advanced technologies like AI-powered trail guards and satellite imaging have improved monitoring and anti-poaching efforts, these tools remain ineffective without robust political will and enforceable policies. The failure to meet the 2020 Aichi conservation targets highlights an urgent need for governments to transition from vague goals to funded, ground-level interventions to prevent a catastrophic ecological collapse.
- Goldman Sachs11 min
Biotech and the Transition from Pandemic to Endemic
The event analyzes the global transition toward an endemic phase for COVID-19, highlighting a significant disparity where Western nations with high immunization rates differ from the majority of countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that remain in the pandemic stage. Industry leaders at BioNTech, Pfizer, and Moderna are currently developing multivalent mRNA vaccines to merge seasonal flu and coronavirus protection, shifting strategies toward frequent boosters to manage waning immunity. The discussion underscores the unprecedented speed of regulatory transparency and clinical development achieved last year while warning against complacency as the world prepares for future pandemic threats.