Latest Interviews

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.

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.

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.

Cracking the Code of Addiction and Mental Health

Lynn Goldman, Thomas Insel, Gary Mendell, Richard Pops, Garen Staglin, Nora Volkow

A panel of experts from NIDA and public health organizations identifies the opioid crisis as a preventable epidemic driven by systemic healthcare failures, including aggressive pharmaceutical marketing and inadequate medical training, which have caused mortality rates among white non-Hispanic Americans to rise for the first time in history. To address this, the group advocates for mandating CDC prescribing limits, expanding access to proven medication-assisted treatments, and shifting workplace cultures to reduce stigma, emphasizing that the primary obstacle remains the implementation of existing evidence-based protocols rather than a lack of scientific knowledge. Despite these proposed solutions facing significant barriers such as insurance coverage gaps and reimbursement policies that delay care, the consensus holds that coordinated policy changes could reduce new addiction rates by half and reverse decades of escalating overdose deaths.

Scaling Culture | Jason Kilar, former Hulu CEO

Jason Kilar

Jason, a corporate culture expert with twenty years of scaling experience at Disney, Amazon, and Hulu, argues that organizational values must be codified into repeatable mechanisms to survive growth beyond fifty employees. He details how Disney relied on explicit behavioral modeling and dedicated training institutions, while Amazon utilized written leadership principles and tangible awards to dismantle bureaucracy and enforce "Disagree and Commit" protocols. Additionally, Jason explains how Hulu leveraged provocative cultural documents to repel misaligned candidates and rigorously terminated high performers who violated core tenets, demonstrating that good intentions alone cannot sustain culture at scale.

How to Be a Great Founder with Reid Hoffman (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 13)

Reid Hoffman, Sam

This analysis challenges the "super-founder" myth by advocating for small, complementary co-founder teams that prioritize high-trust dynamics and constructive conflict over individual panopticons of skill. It outlines a strategic framework where founders select locations based on specific network needs rather than defaulting to Silicon Valley, while balancing rigid long-term visions with the agility to pivot on intelligent risks. The discussion further emphasizes that successful ventures require an informed contrarian thesis and the ability to manage paradoxes such as simultaneous belief and paranoia to navigate the critical intersection of product distribution and financing.

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.

The Muse's Kathryn Minshew Speaks at the Female Founders Conference 2016

Kathryn Minshew

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2016 Tax Season: What small business owners need to know

Carol Roth, David Solis, Ebong Eka, Steve Strauss

Small business owners are advised to avoid DIY tax preparation and instead cultivate a year-round professional team of CPAs and financial advisors to ensure compliance and optimize financial outcomes. This strategic approach integrates automated record-keeping with real-time collaboration to navigate complex 2015 regulatory shifts, including the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate reduction and revised IRS contribution limits. By treating tax planning as a continuous process rather than an annual event, businesses can prevent costly penalties, secure necessary capital, and leverage significant deductions like the $2 million Section 179 equipment allowance.

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.