Latest Interviews

Talks at GS – Icarus: Uncovering a Scandal of Olympic Proportions

Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan, David Fialkow

Director Brian Fogel launched a documentary project that evolved into a high-stakes thriller after scientists suggested anti-doping tests were easily bypassable, leading him to partner with Russian whistleblower Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov. Their collaboration produced the record-breaking film "Icarus," which exposed Russia's state-sponsored doping program and forced Rodchenkov into exile following threats from Vladimir Putin's regime. This pivotal case study demonstrates how a sports investigation transformed into a survival narrative, ultimately setting market benchmarks for documentary valuations and catalyzing the shift toward streaming platforms as the primary distributor for the genre.

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.

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.

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.

Casey Neistat and Matt Hackett on Live Video's Struggle for Interestingness

Casey Neistat, Matt Hackett, Craig Cannon

The organization pivoted from failed raw live-streaming concepts to "Panels," a constrained product designed to foster articulate debate on daily news while employing strict moderation to mitigate online toxicity. This evolution reflects a broader hybrid strategy that merges media content creation with engineering rigor, overcoming cultural friction between newsroom and tech teams to build a sustainable "media plus product" model. Supported by CNN's long-term capital, the founders have transitioned from a survival mindset to a decade-long vision, prioritizing team stability and deep content development over immediate viral metrics.

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.

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.

Putting Prevention First

Liz Szabo, Kelly Close, William Dietz, Frank Hu, Anne Schuchat, Hugh Waters, Bill Dietz

Presenting the latest CDC data and Harvard research, this event highlights that nearly 40% of U.S. adults and 20% of children are obese, driving a three-fold increase in chronic diseases and a 7% rise in obesity-related cancers. The discussion details how excess weight gain in young adulthood significantly elevates risks for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death, while costing the U.S. economy $3.4 trillion annually. To address these escalating trends, experts advocate for a strategic shift from individual willpower to systemic interventions targeting young adults, including improved food access, campus wellness programs, and increased federal funding for the CDC.

Mark Zuckerberg On Yahoo's Billion Dollar Offer

Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman

In mid-2006, Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook rejected a $1 billion acquisition offer from Yahoo, a high-stakes decision that triggered an immediate exodus of the early management team due to misaligned visions. This pivot toward a global mission was rapidly validated by the launch of the News Feed and the opening of the platform to the general public within weeks. Consequently, Zuckerberg cemented a long-term hiring strategy to support this independence, asserting that no future acquisition offers would be entertained despite the increasing complexity of modern technology bets.

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.

Healthy Living Equals Healthy Aging: How Where We Live, Work and Play Can Impact Our Longevity

Anand Parekh, Catherine Anderson, Frank Diana, Omar Nagji, Allison Silberberg, Pattie Dale Tye

Industry leaders from Humana, Lyft, UnitedHealthcare, and the City of Alexandria convened to address the critical intersection of aging demographics and healthcare access, highlighting how transportation barriers and social isolation drive significant health disparities. The panel detailed strategic partnerships that integrate non-clinical services like housing stability and food security into core care models, demonstrating measurable successes in reducing missed medical appointments and improving community health metrics. By advocating for regulatory agility and cross-sector data integration, these stakeholders outlined a roadmap for shifting from reactive treatment to preventative, community-centric solutions that support healthy life extension.

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.

The Rapidly Changing Food Industry and What it Means for Health

Michael Klowden, Cristina Alesci, Shane Emmett, Neil Grimmer, Douglas Munk, Jonathan Neman, Irwin Simon

A global food industry pivot is driven by millennial demand for transparency, personalized nutrition, and long-term health outcomes, forcing major players like Nestlé and Hain Celestial to launch billion-dollar initiatives and restructure supply chains. While small innovators like Health Warrior and Daily Table demonstrate viability through agile models and strategic partnerships, they face persistent structural barriers including retail placement dominance by established brands and federal subsidies that favor nutrient-poor crops. The market is increasingly converging toward scalable "dynamic menus" and affordable infrastructure, as leaders recognize that bridging the cost gap requires merging advanced biological data with massive logistical efficiency.

The Future of Money: Banking on Fintech

Alex Rampell

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.

A Conversation with FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb

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.