Latest Interviews
Showing 1366–1380 of 2,116 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute54 min
When Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary: Olympic and Paralympic Heroes
Gene Sykes, Janet Evans, Allyson Felix, Apolo Ohno, Sarah Reinertsen
Four elite athletes and LA 2024 Bid Committee CEO Gene Sykes explored the psychological resilience, evolving training methodologies, and unique pressures that define Olympic competition. The panelists detailed how modern data-driven recovery techniques and mental conditioning allow mature athletes to overcome doubt and extend their careers, while contrasting these approaches with the raw ambition that fueled their youth. Sykes further outlined Los Angeles's strategy for the 2024 Games, emphasizing a low-cost, transit-centric infrastructure model that leverages existing facilities to create a compact, legacy-rich event.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Start-up Nations: Creating Laboratories for Developing Economies
Glenn Yago, Clare Akamanzi, Jeremy Bentley, Richard Blum, Eli Groner, Angela Homsi, Karen Ross
A structural inversion where emerging markets now surpass the "Old World" in GDP share has created a critical need to deploy trillions in idle global capital toward addressing climate adaptation and Sustainable Development Goals. Panelists identified that despite available financing, the primary barrier is a lack of scalable "applied innovation" and viable business models to serve deep rural areas, prompting a strategic pivot toward government-led frameworks in Rwanda, Israel, and California. These nations are successfully leveraging public-private partnerships, financial innovation centers, and educational initiatives to transform niche technologies into bankable projects that bridge the gap between capital availability and last-mile implementation.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
The Evolution of Hedge Fund Management
Julie Lauer Wurster, Mark Baumgartner, Scott Ferguson, Samantha Greenberg, Richard Schimel
Following a wave of hedge fund closures driven by surging infrastructure costs, the industry is undergoing rapid consolidation that forces emerging managers to either secure massive seed capital or join established platforms like Citadel to survive. This environment has created a buyer's market for talent, enabling larger firms to recruit top analysts with structured career paths and sophisticated technology, while successful startups increasingly rely on institutional-grade operations to deliver top-quartile performance. As a result, the sector is trending toward a model where the top managers command an expanding share of total assets, compelling smaller funds to adapt through hybrid approaches or risk obsolescence.
- Milken Institute1h 5m
Space Travel: From Mars to the Stars
Michael Milken, Buzz Aldrin, Daniel Goldin, Mae Jemison, Yuri Milner
Panelists including Buzz Aldrin, Dan Goldin, and May Yi outline a strategic roadmap for human expansion from the Moon to the stars, featuring Aldrin's 2039 Mars colonization plan and Breakthrough Starshot's billion-dollar interstellar probe initiative. The discussion emphasizes a collaborative framework where private sector funding drives high-risk exploration while governments support infrastructure, aiming to solve technical hurdles like relativistic sail integrity and biological survival for deep space travel. Ultimately, the experts argue that pursuing audacious goals like interstellar flight is essential to galvanize global innovation, ensuring the long-term survival of the human species by expanding beyond Earth's carrying capacity.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
A Conversation with Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso
Taro Aso, John Micklethwait, Kyle Theodore, Mark Allen, Alfredo
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso detailed a comprehensive strategy to shift the nation from a deflationary recession to robust growth by prioritizing wise spending, corporate governance reforms, and the mobilization of dormant household savings. He outlined specific fiscal incentives for SMEs and R&D while addressing critical demographic challenges through labor participation, automation, and targeted visa programs rather than mass immigration. In the geopolitical arena, Aso emphasized the urgent threat posed by North Korea and affirmed Japan's continued commitment to the TPP framework while coordinating with the US to secure multilateral trade benefits.
- Milken Institute1h 4m
What's Happened to the American Dream?
Shaun Robinson, Jim Clifton, Robert H. Dugger, Shirin Laor-Raz Salemnia, Yascha Mounk, Will Packer
This analysis examines the shift from the American Dream as a pursuit of universal material improvement to a zero-sum struggle for positional goods, driven by flat living standards since 1985 and the exclusion of 60% of young adults from the labor market. Key structural barriers including felony records, educational misalignment, and automation threats have reduced intergenerational social mobility to 7.5% and created governance risks by alienating millions of citizens. Proposed solutions focus on early childhood investment, expanding awareness of high-growth tech sectors, and reforming higher education to identify and nurture resilience in high-potential students regardless of background.
- Milken Institute1h 4m
Where in the World Are the Best Infrastructure Deals?
Harry Goldgut, Sharmila Chatterjee Kassam, Joe Hockey, Stu Porter, Thomas Wu
Institutional investors are increasingly targeting $7 trillion in Asian infrastructure gaps and 12–15% returns in frontier markets by prioritizing greenfield assets and co-investment structures over traditional core holdings. To unlock this capital, experts advocate for asset recycling models that link public asset sales to visible new construction, supported by development banks to underwrite political risk and legal frameworks tailored to local conditions. Strategic focus is shifting toward energy storage, technological upgrades for AI, and specific opportunities in Brazil, Colombia, and India where customized financing and equipment adaptation mitigate developmental barriers.
- Milken Institute57 min
Addressing the Urban Housing Crisis
Gail Goldberg, Laura Archuleta, Christopher Hawthorne, Hessam Nadji, William Witte, Shawn Robinson, Dick Zyman, Josh Stevens
A comprehensive analysis of the global and Californian housing crisis highlights a critical shortage of 8.3 million U.S. units exacerbated by fragmented land-use policies, excessive approval timelines, and volatile funding mechanisms that have stalled job growth in tech hubs. While recent voter initiatives in Los Angeles and various counties demonstrate strong public support for housing bonds and transit-oriented development, systemic barriers such as prevailing wage mandates and the dominance of single-family home ownership continue to drive costs and restrict supply. Strategic solutions now focus on accelerating modular construction, reforming zoning to prioritize permanent affordability in master-planned communities, and shifting cultural paradigms toward rental tenancy to address the 9-to-11 trillion dollar investment gap required to close the housing divide.
- Milken Institute28 min
MIc'd Up | Part 1: A Conversation with Norman Lear and Ava DuVernay
Norman Lear, Ava DuVernay, Alex Witt
Hosted by Alex Witt, legendary television producer Norman Lear and filmmaker Ava DuVernay discussed the role of entertainment as a catalyst for radical justice and the enduring reality of systemic oppression. Lear detailed his strategy for centering Black life through sitcoms like *The Jeffersons* and his recent Latin American adaptation of *One Day at a Time*, while DuVernay explained her vision for Array as a long-term institution challenging Hollywood's distribution barriers with her upcoming film *A Wrinkle in Time*. The speakers concluded that true progress requires moving beyond symbolic milestones, such as the Obama presidency, to actively dismantle intersecting privileges and hold society accountable for equal opportunity.
- Milken Institute1h 3m
Credit Market Outlook
Michael Milken, Mark Attanasio, George Hicks, Sir Michael Hintze, Joseph Naggar, Jim Zelter
Leading credit managers from Apollo, Crescent Capital Group, and GoldenTree warned that the global credit cycle is maturing and prone to a correction in 2018 due to excessive private equity leverage and a market overexposed to passive investment vehicles. To navigate an environment characterized by covenant-lite structures and rising interest rates, these panelists advocate for active management strategies focused on strict underwriting, floating-rate instruments, and distressed opportunities in Europe and emerging markets. By prioritizing complex origination and deep fundamental analysis over index-driven approaches, active managers aim to identify value in mispriced assets while mitigating the risks of an imminent market downturn.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
MENA Region: New Tactics to Transform Economies and Accelerate Growth
Rana Foroohar, Yousef Al Otaiba, His Highness Prince Fahad Al Saud, Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani, Mohammad Barraj, Prince Fahad Al Saud
Regional leaders and experts convened to outline a comprehensive strategy for economic diversification, highlighting the UAE's shift to a non-oil GDP and Qatar's 2030 vision while addressing a $260 billion financing gap for small and medium-sized enterprises. The panel emphasized leveraging technology and social media to drive female entrepreneurship and correct global narratives, alongside security reforms that prioritize addressing root causes of extremism over pure military intervention. Concluding with a call for intensified US-Europe-Arab collaboration, speakers urged the international community to support youth mobility, academic exchange, and internal regional partnerships to foster sustainable growth and "create hope."
- Milken Institute57 min
Pivoting to Purpose: Defining the Next Chapter of Your Life (II)
Errol Barnett, Marc Freedman, Sherry Lansing, Philip Pizzo, Lynda Resnick, Mike Shaw
This panel discusses the "longevity revolution" driven by rising life expectancies and shifting demographics that render the traditional life stages obsolete, featuring insights from leaders like Sherry Lansing and Linda Resnick. The speakers highlight systemic ageism and gender bias while championing a new "encore career" model that leverages 250 million years of human capital for social impact. Furthermore, the discussion outlines a forward-looking framework emphasizing intergenerational synergy, purpose-driven living, and the creation of new social institutions to support a population increasingly defined by decades of post-retirement life.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Trusting Brands: Companies That Create and Inspire Change
Aimée Christensen, Joanne Bradford, David Denholm, Brian Norgard, Cameron Saul, Jeff Seabright
Representatives from SoFi, Kashi, Tinder, Bottle Top, and Unilever convened to discuss strategies for building trustworthy brands through radical transparency and collective action on social and environmental issues. The panelists detailed specific initiatives ranging from SoFi's policy advocacy for student loans and Unilever's supply chain transformations to Kashi's "Certified Transitional" mark and Tinder's expansion into older demographics. While consensus emerged on the necessity of long-term value creation over quarterly results, leaders also debated whether purpose-driven strategies must originate from top-level management or evolve through a "two-way street" with employees and consumers.
- Milken Institute56 min
Digital Reality: How Interconnectedness Is Reshaping Our Lives
Kara Swisher, Michael Ferro, Bobby Kotick, Marne Levine, Evan Sharp
Leading technology and media executives, including Michael Ferrer, Bobby Kotick, Marnie Levine, and Evan Sharp, convened to challenge the narrative that digital platforms erode community by demonstrating how AI and data foster new forms of global connection. The panelists detailed distinct strategic pivots where Merrick Ventures leverages trusted journalism, Pinterest shifts toward decision-making search tools, Instagram integrates immersive business storefronts, and Activision Blizzard utilizes gaming to build global belonging. Ultimately, the group concluded that while automation poses risks to traditional employment, the convergence of visual data, machine learning, and new economic models offers significant potential for entrepreneurial growth and educational advancement if societal infrastructure adapts accordingly.
- Milken Institute1h 4m
Space Travel: From Mars to the Stars
Buzz Aldrin, Yuri, Dan, May
Prominent figures including Buzz Aldrin, Yuri Milner, and Dan Goldin convened to advocate for a shift toward private-sector-driven space exploration to overcome current stagnation and accelerate a permanent human presence on Mars by 2039. The discussion highlighted Milner's $100 million commitment to the Breakthrough Starshot initiative, which aims to launch gram-scale probes to Alpha Centauri, alongside Aldrin's proposal for a global coalition to reduce costs and establish infrastructure. Panelists concluded that securing humanity's long-term survival requires expanding beyond Earth's carrying capacity through unified international efforts and technological innovation in both near-term lunar capabilities and century-scale interstellar travel.