Latest Interviews

Sumayya Vally, Founder and Director of Counterspace

Sumayya Vally, Nishi Sumaya

Johannesburg-based architect Sumaya Valli, drawing from her apartheid-era childhood, designed the 2024 Serpentine Pavilion to honor marginalized gathering spaces inspired by London's Caribbean heritage while utilizing reclaimed cork, steel, and micro-cement. Her firm Counterspace further applied this philosophy through the Folded Skies installation, which transforms toxic mining soil into iridescent materials to visualize Johannesburg's extraction history. Alongside these projects, Valli established a three-year network to sustainably support ten artists annually who intersect art, social justice, and ecology.

E59: Twitter's content warning algo, equity audits, politicians trading stocks, Fed's next move

Elizabeth Warren, Elon, Jeremy Strong, London Breed, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks

In a recent episode of the "All In" podcast, Chamath Palihapitiya, David Sacks, and their co-hosts address the Federal Reserve's accelerated tapering plan while critiquing House Democrats' proposed racial equity audits as paternalistic grifts that threaten innovation. The panelists also analyze Omicron's high transmissibility against lower severity, predicting a political shift away from strict lockdowns as the pandemic becomes endemic, and discuss the burgeoning mainstream potential of mRNA technology for treating cancer. Furthermore, the discussion covers emerging tensions in tech moderation, bipartisan failures in congressional insider trading enforcement, and the potential for a "red wave" in the 2022 midterms driven by voter fatigue with radical progressive policies.

Patrick Cantlay, 2021 PGA TOUR Player of the Year

Patrick Cantlay

PGA Tour Player of the Year Patrick Cantlay recounts his triumphant return from a three-year spinal injury and the personal tragedy of losing his best friend, crediting a dedicated rehabilitation team and mechanical adjustments for his recent success. Drawing on the pressure management techniques honed during his Ryder Cup victory, Cantlay discusses his strategic approach to performance and his belief that advancing golf ball distance threatens the architectural integrity of historic courses. Looking ahead, he targets major championships like the 2022 British Open while emphasizing the importance of balancing competitive intensity with personal well-being to sustain his career.

Understanding Investor Terms & Incentives || Rookie Mistakes with Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel

Dalton Caldwell, Michael Seibel

Startup founders are urged to scrutinize funding terms and investor incentives with the same rigor as valuation to avoid losing board control or accepting misaligned capital structures. The summary highlights how professional investors frequently exploit information asymmetries and capital abundance to secure superior rights, such as super pro-rata, while pressuring founders into funding rounds that prioritize investor exit targets over sustainable growth. By prioritizing partners with a proven track record of billion-dollar exits and demanding standardized legal safeguards, founders can better navigate these predatory tactics and secure terms that truly support long-term success.

Can science help poor kids earn more?

Neuroscience research confirms that long-term child development benefits more from active conversational turns than passive vocabulary exposure, with data-driven "talk pedometer" interventions successfully increasing hourly word counts by 32% to help close the socioeconomic achievement gap. Despite these communication-focused successes, the persistent stagnation of educational disparities has sparked debate over Professor Catherine Page Harden's proposal to integrate genetic analysis into school policy for predicting academic outcomes. While proponents argue that genetic testing could enable targeted interventions to improve social mobility, critics warn of historical eugenics parallels and the ethical risks of reinforcing social hierarchies through genetic determinism.

Mardy Fish, Former Professional Tennis Player

Mardy Fish

Former professional tennis player and Davis Cup captain Morty Fish details his journey from a junior prodigy to a top-ranked athlete before overcoming severe anxiety and panic attacks in 2012. Following a critical intervention by his wife, Fish prioritized his mental health over his career, returning to the sport in 2015 to compete with resilience rather than a desire for victory. Now a mental health advocate, Fish uses his platform to normalize vulnerability in high-pressure environments and encourage others to seek professional help for psychological struggles.

Redefining the Retirement Landscape

Allison Nathan, Mike Moran

Goldman Sachs Asset Management conducted its inaugural retirement survey of over 1,200 participants to contrast the financial hurdles and retirement timing of workers against those of retirees, revealing that health issues and job losses frequently force early departures for retirees while inflation and debt constrain current savings. The data highlights significant demographic disparities, noting that women often retire earlier than planned and feel less secure in their savings than men, whereas younger generations display optimistic yet unrealistic expectations regarding income replacement and retirement ages. In response to these findings and a shifting employment landscape, employers are increasingly transitioning from standalone 401(k) plans to comprehensive retirement programs that integrate financial wellness tools, student loan assistance, and lifetime income vehicles to address systemic gaps and retain talent.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Author of “Uncontrolled Spread” and Former FDA Commissioner

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Charmaine Mosavar-Rahmani

Dr. Gottlieb discusses the Omicron variant's rapid transmission and reduced severity in South Africa while arguing that booster shots provide sufficient protection against severe disease without the need for immediate variant-specific vaccines. He outlines a shift toward endemic management strategies, emphasizing seasonal vaccination, improved air filtration, and the distribution of home diagnostics as key components of future pandemic preparedness. The analysis further critiques historical data suppression and institutional hesitation, calling for a national security approach to building resilient public health infrastructure.

Antibiotic Resistance and Chronic Disease: Understanding the Challenges and Some Possible Solutions

Amanda Jezek, Jonathan Daniels, David Greenberg, Thomas Heyman, Kathy Talkington, Mark Williams, Tom Heyman

Hosted by Faster Cures in partnership with the Infectious Disease Society of America and other key organizations, this webinar examined the critical market failure hindering new antibiotic development and highlighted its severe impact on cancer, cystic fibrosis, and transplant patients. Panelists presented data showing thousands of annual deaths from antimicrobial resistance while advocating for the "Pasteur Act," a policy designed to de-link financial rewards from sales volume to incentivize the creation of novel drugs for critical pathogens. The event concluded by urging stakeholders to share personal stories and sign a letter to Congress to drive legislative action and secure funding for both antibiotic stewardship and research.

Norman Naimark: Genocide, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Absolute Power | Lex Fridman Podcast #248

Norman Naimark, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Lex Fridman

Historian Norman Naimark analyzes the rise of Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong, characterizing their regimes as competent yet evil systems where ideological conviction and personal paranoia drove the Holodomor and the Great Leap Forward to claim tens of millions of lives. Naimark argues that while totalitarian structures dehumanize populations to enable mass murder, the 1948 UN Genocide Convention remains too narrow by excluding political groups and that geopolitical self-interest continues to obstruct modern interventions like the Responsibility to Protect. Despite a pessimistic view regarding human nature and the persistence of atrocities, the conversation concludes that technological advancement does not guarantee moral progress, offering cautious hope through the integrity of a younger generation willing to reject complicity.

Molly Mae: How She Became Creative Director Of PLT At 22 | 110

Molly Mae

Creative Director Molly May outlines her transition from influencer to business leader at Pretty Little Thing, leveraging a 10 million follower base and a selective partnership strategy to drive her brand while scaling her own "Filter by Molly May" product line. Her narrative details a high-pressure life defined by extreme work ethics, significant personal security upgrades following a burglary, and a deliberate shift toward natural beauty after reversing cosmetic procedures that had triggered public criticism. Despite managing intense professional demands for London Fashion Week and her emerging businesses, May emphasizes her focus on transparency, mental resilience, and long-term philanthropic goals to sustain her identity beyond financial accumulation.

E58: November's CPI, preparing for a downturn, macro outlook, Better.com's botched layoffs & more

Chamath, Calacanis, Friedberg, Jussie Smollett, David Sacks

Prominent investors and analysts debated the accelerating 6.8% inflation and structural labor shortages at an event featuring Bill Ackman, Chamath Pillay, and Jay Calacanis, who criticized the federal government's fiscal mismanagement and the inefficiency of current capital allocation models. The discussion highlighted the sharp correction in tech valuations and the fallout from corporate missteps like the Better.com layoffs as evidence of a shifting market environment driven by rising interest rates. Looking ahead, the panelists offered diverging forecasts on whether the economy faces a soft landing or a prolonged slide while identifying the creator economy as a potential source of new employment opportunities.

Monique Rodriguez, Founder and CEO, Mielle Organics

Monique Rodriguez

Monique Rodriguez established Miel Organics in 2014 as a fastest-growing natural hair care brand by leveraging her nursing background to prioritize ingredient integrity and bootstrap funding before securing the capital needed for global retail expansion. Beyond product sales in 87 countries, the company launched the "More Than a Strand" fund to support Black women and students while differentiating its market position through an authentic CEO-to-consumer connection that rejects the notion of a saturated industry. Rodriguez's strategic vision targets becoming the number one globally recognized Black-owned beauty company by 2030 by addressing the demographic shift toward textured hair and cultivating a next generation of entrepreneurs through humility and community investment.

Watch Live: 2021 Goldman Sachs Gives Analyst Impact Fund Finals

Brooke Farrelly, Carli Gogol, Sidney Mitchell, Zac Sicher, Filip Jedmo, Jake Lewis, Daniel Mayers, Aoife O'Halloran, Tilly Thatcher, Srushti Deshmukh, Anagha Gurumurthy, Aditi Kulkarni, Nitiksha, Shreya Srikanth, Will Elia, Max Pivonka, Sara Rogers, Julian Sanchez, Erica Leslie, Julian Salisbury, David Solomon, Dennis Coleman, Asahi Pompei, Emmanuel Oniyuku, Liz Martin, Dan, Ate Latiranta, Lydia Finnegan, Leela, Preston L. James II, Madison, Simone, Nicole Esposito, Ian Drayton, Carrie Haleo, Rachel Schneider, Claire Thompson, Kia Williams, Brad

The sixth iteration of the Goldman Sachs Analyst Impact Fund brought together 1,600 colleagues to compete for grants supporting 300 non-profits, with four finalist teams presenting proposals to judges including David Solomon. Lime Connect won the top prize for its initiative to bridge the employment gap for people with disabilities, while Hello World, Div Inc, and Prasarana Trust secured second, third, and fourth place respectively, with Prasarana also receiving the $25,000 Fan Favorite award. The event successfully aligned the firm's culture of entrepreneurship with tangible outcomes, including a projected $700 billion potential GDP increase in India and significant strides in global digital access and minority entrepreneurship.

What India’s Digital Transformation Means for Markets, Investors and Economic Growth

Tim Moe, Sunil Koul, Santanu Sengupta, Allison Nathan

Presented by Goldman Sachs, the 2022 session forecasts India's GDP growth at 9.1% while warning that equities trade at historically high valuations necessitating a three-rate hike trajectory by the Reserve Bank of India. Analysts highlight a structural shift where the "new economy" sector's weight in indices could surge to 15–16%, mirroring China's past decade of wealth creation despite near-term headwinds from inflation and a robust IPO pipeline. The discussion concludes by outlining key risks related to balance of payments and wage inflation that could complicate monetary normalization as the region pursues this digital transformation.