Latest Interviews
Showing 2116–2130 of 3,056 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute1h 14m
Made in California: Presentations from California Grown Startups
Dorothy Rothrock, Ian Coll McEachern, Gordon Fowler, Gabe Grifoni, Susie Harborth, Stella Kramer, Carmen Palafox, Dolly Singh, Ken Sunshine
Leaders from Make in LA, The Glue Factory, and BioLabs San Diego convened to address critical workforce shortages in California's manufacturing and biotech sectors while analyzing the rise of hardware-enabled startups and fragmented funding landscapes. The session featured five case studies illustrating this shift, including Vector Space Systems' launch vehicle innovation, Sangenomics' personalized probiotic therapy, and Thesis Couture's engineering-driven footwear. Presenters highlighted a strategic pivot from traditional networking to resource access, emphasizing the need for specialized incubators to support solopreneurs and the convergence of software with IoT and frontier technologies.
- Milken Institute59 min
Blockchain for Social Impact
Matthew Spence, Brian Forde, Hugh Gordon, Robert Hertzberg, Lily Liu
This panel explored blockchain technology as a distributed ledger enabling immutable public records, contrasting proof-of-work and proof-of-stake consensus models while highlighting applications in land titling, identity verification, and healthcare data sovereignty. Senator Robert Hertzberg announced upcoming California legislation to establish a regulatory framework, aiming to modernize government infrastructure and rebuild public trust alongside international initiatives in nations like Estonia and Georgia. Despite security vulnerabilities and market volatility, the discussion emphasized blockchain's potential to revolutionize micropayments, decentralized capital formation, and the global freelance economy through tokenization and reduced intermediaries.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Sustainable Solutions For a Green Future
Tracy Gray, Tom McGrath, Nancy Pfund, Dakota Semler, Azita Yazdani, Richael Young
Moderator Tracy Marder convened a panel featuring investment leaders Nancy Fund of DBL Partners and Tom McGrath of Vital Clean Tech Ventures to explore how impact capital drives innovation in sectors like transportation, energy storage, and agriculture. The discussion detailed specific breakthroughs from founders including Michelle of Mammoth Trading, Dakota Simler of Thor Trucks, and Azita Yazdani of Exergy Systems, who presented data-driven solutions for groundwater management, electric heavy-duty logistics, and decentralized water recovery. Ultimately, the session emphasized the necessity of long-term policy stability and equitable workforce development to scale these technologies toward the $1.3 trillion annual sustainable energy investment required by 2030.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
LIVE 11/08: Tech or Bust: Maintaining California's Edge in the Workforce #CALeading
Patt Morrison, Marcie Jastrow, Shawn Layden, Tobias Sherman, Jay Tucker, Jeff Wong
Facing intense global competition from regions offering direct cash incentives, California's $300 billion entertainment and tech sector is grappling with a shrinking local labor pool and the urgent need to bridge the digital divide in low-income communities. Industry leaders are urging the state to adopt differential tax incentives and expand public-private educational partnerships to secure a diverse talent pipeline and counter the rise of emerging gaming hubs in cities like Austin and Toronto. Without these strategic shifts to support infrastructure, curriculum reform, and cultural integration, the region risks ceding its leadership in the converging fields of visual effects, virtual reality, and esports to international markets.
- Milken Institute23 min
California Leading the Future of Energy #CALeading
Harry Atwater, Caroline Choi, Mark Herrema, Jane Wells, Richard D'Atezio
At the Milken Institute's 20th-anniversary global conference, 4,000 participants explored the "building meaningful lives" theme by examining California as a microcosm for solving global challenges in health, energy, and infrastructure. Key speakers, including Professor Harry Atwater and representatives from Southern California Edison and New Light Technologies, presented critical data on decarbonizing transportation, leveraging artificial photosynthesis for fuel synthesis, and converting agricultural methane into biodegradable plastics. The dialogue emphasized that achieving the Paris Agreement targets requires massive investment in zero-carbon energy capacity, a seven-million-electric-vehicle fleet by 2030, and strategic shifts toward private-sector innovation to bridge funding gaps in solving issues like malnutrition and clean energy access.
- Milken Institute11 min
LIVE 11/08: California Leading the Future of Energy #CALeading
Harry Atwater, Caroline Choi, Mark Herrema, Jane Wells
California's strategic roadmap targets the electrification of its transportation and power sectors to achieve an 80% clean energy mix by 2030, addressing the 40% of greenhouse gas emissions currently generated by transportation. Key initiatives include deploying 7 million electric vehicles, expanding charging infrastructure through partnerships with utilities and automakers like BP and Shell, and implementing building efficiency standards while managing customer costs. Success relies on immediate legislative action and cross-industry collaboration to integrate storage solutions and capture agricultural methane, ultimately aiming to reduce costs and create healthier communities.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
LIVE 11/08: Blockchain for Social Impact #CALeading
Matthew Spence, Brian Forde, Hugh Gordon, Robert Hertzberg, Lily Liu, Brian Kemler
Industry experts convened to define blockchain as a decentralized ledger capable of revolutionizing sectors ranging from healthcare and land titling to the advertising economy by enabling secure data ownership and near-zero transaction costs. The discussion highlighted a strategic shift from energy-intensive consensus models to Proof of Stake, while addressing critical regulatory challenges through proposed pilot programs in California and the need for inclusive recruitment practices. Ultimately, the panel characterized the technology as a foundational shift toward democratizing capital and restoring institutional trust, despite ongoing volatility and the necessity for adaptive legal frameworks.
- Milken Institute57 min
Pt. 1 A Conversation with Steve Ballmer Pt. 2 California's Future Economy
Steve Ballmer, Michael Milken, Kevin Klowden, Kevin Demoff, Charles Harrington, Paul Markovich, Betty Yee
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer applies his "great ideas" and performance-driven leadership philosophy to his current ventures, including his 2014 acquisition of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers and his nonpartisan USAFacts initiative. This event details Ballmer's strategic focus on winning championships, his "venture capital philanthropy" for early childhood education, and his data-driven approach to government accountability. The discussion culminates in a broader panel on California's economic future, where experts examine the threats of automation, healthcare inflation, and cybersecurity to sustainable workforce growth and public sector reform.
- The Economist8 min
The Balfour Declaration's impact, 100 years on
Jeremy Berkovits, Ahmad Shakarneh, Ahmed Shikane
The 1917 Balfour Declaration established a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine while promising to protect the rights of existing non-Jewish communities, yet British policy reversals and subsequent conflicts failed to satisfy either side. Following the 1948 establishment of Israel and the 1949 armistice, the resulting displacement of 700,000 Palestinians, known as the Nakba, initiated a century of wars, occupation, and diplomatic impasses. Despite the coexistence efforts of dual-national staff at the American Colony Hotel, the Declaration's original promise remains unfulfilled for Palestinians, leaving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict intractable with no Palestinian state established.
- Y Combinator24 min
The Most Important Decision is Getting Started – Laura Behrens Wu
Laura Behrens Wu, Carolyn Levy
Shippo, co-founded by Laura Behrens-Wu and Simon, built an API platform that processes millions of monthly shipments for 16,000 e-commerce merchants after pivoting to solve critical shipping transparency issues. The company successfully raised $9 million in two rounds despite facing significant hurdles, including 115 investor rejections, team turnover, and a lawsuit, by maintaining transparent communication and executing a compressed four-week Series A process. Behrens-Wu now leverages this experience to advocate for inclusive hiring practices and warns founders to vet investors on their crisis management behaviors while navigating systemic gender biases in the B2B technology sector.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Women Leading a Wellness Revolution
Joyce Chang, Nancy Brinker, Alexia Brue, Donna Karan, Melanie Whelan
Moderated by Joyce Chang, a panel of industry leaders including SoulCycle CEO Melanie Whalen and Susan G. Komen founder Nancy Brinker explored how community building drives success across wellness, fashion, and healthcare sectors. The discussion highlighted specific organizational strategies such as SoulCycle's referral-based growth and Urban Zen's integrated care models, while identifying systemic barriers like transportation gaps and the need for user-owned health data. Ultimately, the group advocated for a future where wellness is accessible to all, emphasizing the role of conscious consumerism and educational integration in preventing chronic disease and fostering global connection.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Driving the Digital Health Revolution
Indu Subaiya, Paul Chew, Karen DeSalvo, Esther Dyson, Cindy Elkins, Donald Jones, Don Jones
The digital health sector is pivoting from episodic treatment to preventative "generating health" models, driven by a projected shortage of 40,000 primary care physicians by 2030 and the need to address social determinants that account for 80% of health outcomes. Companies like Omada Health and Way to Wellville are disrupting traditional fee-for-service structures by implementing value-based payment reforms that leverage behavioral design, remote coaching, and community-led interventions to achieve measurable clinical results. Despite significant funding and technological advancements in AI and connected devices, widespread adoption faces critical hurdles including regulatory lag, the digital divide, and the need for new data ownership frameworks to support equitable population health management.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Raising an Active Generation
Sean Gregory, Mark Abbott, Eric Boerwinkle, Bruce Y. Lee, Kathleen Tullie
Discussions highlight how a $15 billion youth sports industry and restrictive school policies have created significant health disparities and participation gaps for children in lower-income neighborhoods. To address these systemic barriers, stakeholders including the MLS, Reebok, and corporate partners are deploying grassroots solutions such as free mini-pitches, sampling-based training programs, and mobile donation initiatives to increase accessibility and physical literacy. These strategic shifts prioritize unstructured play, injury prevention, and inclusive recreational leagues to counteract burnout and ensure long-term retention across diverse communities.
- a16z29 min
The Future of Money: Banking on Fintech
The financial sector is undergoing a fundamental transformation where revenue is decoupling from physical branches as fintech startups disrupt the $12 trillion lending market and traditional insurance models through specialized digital services. While legacy institutions like Chase and Wells Fargo retain distribution advantages that often force startups to pivot toward B2B technology sales or niche verticals, innovation continues to accelerate via automated underwriting and alternative data sources. This competitive dynamic establishes that success now hinges on owning consumer relationships or critical infrastructure layers rather than competing directly on broad banking products.
- Milken Institute35 min
A Conversation with FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb
Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb outlines a multifaceted regulatory strategy addressing the opioid epidemic, tobacco addiction, and the aftermath of Hurricane María on Puerto Rico's critical medical manufacturing sector. He emphasizes adapting regulatory frameworks for emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and digital health tools while prioritizing the prevention of medical misinformation and product shortages. The discussion highlights a shift toward reducing review cycles, de-risking early-stage development, and utilizing post-market surveillance to balance safety with innovation.