Latest Interviews

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - Race We Can't Afford to Lose: Outsmarting Superbugs

Larry Brilliant, Beth Bell, Victoria Nahum, Lance Price, Andy von Eschenbach

Public health leaders convened to address the critical obsolescence of U.S. disease surveillance technology, which currently lags behind the rapid, cost-effective capabilities of Advanced Molecular Detection required to combat antimicrobial resistance and food-borne threats. Panelists detailed the catastrophic societal costs of preventable infections, including specific cases where delayed diagnostics contributed to mortality, while arguing that federal inaction represents the single greatest immediate risk to national security and public safety. The discussion concluded with a unified call for mandatory antibiotic stewardship, standardized genomic testing, and medical diplomacy to secure global health infrastructure before emerging pathogens outpace current diagnostic limitations.

The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters

Gregory Zuckerman, Joel Kurtzman, Conrad Kieschel, Greg Zuckerman, David J., Eric Schmidt, John McCutchan, David Freeman, David Sanger

At a Milken Institute forum, author Greg Zuckerman and moderator Joel Kurtzman analyzed how unconventional entrepreneurs like George Mitchell and Harold Hamm drove a U.S. energy revolution, slashing import dependence from 40% to 14.5% through hydraulic fracturing innovations. This technological surge, powered by horizontal drilling and "slick water" fracking, transformed the nation into the world's top energy producer while generating millions of jobs and reshaping global geopolitical dynamics. Despite ongoing debates regarding environmental safety and seismic activity, the discussion emphasizes that these breakthroughs have provided a critical economic bridge toward future renewable energy adoption.

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - Welcome Remarks

Addressing critical global health threats like drug-resistant infections and synthetic biology risks, the summit underscored the necessity of sustained U.S. bioscience investment despite current funding declines. Governor Nathan Deal, absent due to a winter storm, formally pledged state support to maintain the CDC's role as the world's first line of defense against emerging pathogens and intentional outbreaks. The event highlighted how technological advancements, such as rapid genome sequencing, have enabled faster responses to crises like H7N9 while calling for renewed bipartisan commitment to secure the agency's future and the nation's economic stability.

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - The Art of Alignment: Nonprofit Strategies for Improving Public Health

Charlie, Dr. Jim Marks, Dr. Anna Barker, John Lang, Dr. Lynn Goldman, Dr. Larry Jamison

Discussions among academic institutions, government agencies, and foundations highlight how strategic cross-sector partnerships can overcome resource constraints to achieve scalable health outcomes. Case studies demonstrate these principles through successful initiatives like the measles vaccination campaign and the YMCA's policy advocacy, which leveraged diverse networks to drive significant reductions in child mortality and chronic disease. Experts conclude that while the CDC's convening power is vital for national impact, sustained investment is required to shift the agency's focus from immediate threats to long-term solutions for obesity and behavioral health.

Uncharted: Big Data as a Lens on Human Culture

Erez Aiden, Jean-Baptiste Michel, Skip Reimer

This analysis of a 5-million-book corpus derived from Google Books reveals how irregular verbs have regularized, collective memory decays faster than ever, and the time for technological adoption has plummeted from 65 to 26 years. Researchers also quantified the suppressive power of regimes like Nazi Germany and modern China through automated detection of n-gram frequency drops while demonstrating that cultural inertia allows for predictable long-term language trends. Ultimately, the study advocates for democratized big data access to objectively track public sentiment, career fame trajectories, and potential algorithmic biases across diverse fields.

Lunch Discussion: Investing in California's Future

Bobby Kotick, Scott Minerd, Lynda Resnick, Lyndon Rive, Michael Milken

A high-level panel convened by industry leaders like SolarCity's Lyndon Rive to analyze California's economic resilience, highlighting critical challenges in municipal debt, workforce retention, and immigration policy. The discussion detailed the tension between rapid renewable energy expansion and regulatory hurdles while proposing public-private partnerships to address educational gaps and unfunded healthcare liabilities. Ultimately, participants urged a strategic shift from reactive philanthropy to active business engagement to compete globally against emerging markets like China and secure sustainable long-term growth.

Keynote Address: Gov. Jerry Brown

Jerry Brown, Mike Clouden

Governor Jerry Brown credited California's transition from a $27 billion deficit to a projected surplus of up to $12 billion on five voter-passed structural reforms, including redistricting and a top-two open primary, while cautioning against using temporary capital gains to fund permanent programs. The administration is currently shifting education funding from state mandates to a local formula that targets low-income and non-English-speaking students, reversing a trend of centralized control initiated by Proposition 13. Despite facing unresolved liabilities such as unfunded pensions and deferred infrastructure maintenance, the state continues to lead the nation in venture capital and innovation while positioning climate change solutions as a key economic driver.

A Conversation with Edmund Phelps, Moderated by Peter Passell

Edmund Phelps, Peter Passell, Krishna Kumar

Co-hosted by RAND and the Milken Institute, this event featured Nobel Laureate Edmund Phelps arguing that a shift from individualism to corporatism since the 1930s has stifled indigenous innovation and halved US productivity growth rates. Phelps highlighted that while established corporations currently leverage regulatory protections to block startups, China is matching historical US innovation rates through technological diffusion and grassroots experimentation. He concluded that reversing the stagnation requires a fundamental cultural shift that prioritizes individual creativity and risk-taking over traditional conformism, as standard economic policies alone cannot restore economic dynamism.

The Mideast's New Resource: Entrepreneurs

Christopher Schroeder, Jonathan Spalter, Skip Reimer

Christopher Schroeder, author of *Startup Rising*, presented a transformative narrative to the Milken Institute challenging Western perceptions of the Middle East by highlighting a youth-driven entrepreneurial revolution fueled by mobile technology. The discussion detailed how regional innovators are overcoming systemic barriers such as "Wasta" nepotism and educational deficits to build a mobile-first economy where women comprise nearly one-third of tech startups. Schroeder concluded by urging global investors and policymakers to adopt a forward-looking strategy that leverages this demographic dividend for economic integration rather than relying on outdated geopolitical frameworks.

Chase Adam at Startup School 2013

Chase Adam

Watsi, founded by Chase, launched in August 2012 as a non-hierarchical nonprofit enabling global donors to fund direct medical care for patients in developing nations. After initially going viral without revenue, the organization secured a critical Y Combinator investment from Paul Graham and adopted a 100% donation model that prioritized radical transparency and a singular focus on weekly patient funding. Despite facing operational hurdles such as credit card fraud and legal threats, Watsi continues to operate with an 18-month runway, defining its success solely by the binary metric of whether it can fund one more patient.

Phil Libin at Startup School 2013

Phil Libin

Evernote co-founder Phil Libin outlines the critical importance of selecting long-term co-founders and building products for personal necessity, a philosophy refined through previous ventures like Engine 5 and CoreStreet. Despite surviving a 2008 cash crisis after a legal structure error and a collapsed European investment, the company secured its future through a small emergency loan from an early user and strategic partnerships with investors who were genuine product fans. Libin concludes that the modern app economy validates this approach, where creating an "epic" product for oneself naturally attracts a global audience without requiring traditional market fit validation.

Nate Blecharczyk at Startup School 2013

Nate Blecharczyk

Since its 2007 inception by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk, Airbnb has grown from an airbed rental experiment to a platform hosting 150,000 guests nightly through a pivot from event-specific listings to a global home-sharing model. Accelerated by Y Combinator's mentorship and critical early traction gained via manual photography and the "ramen profitability" mandate, the company achieved a 73-fold growth rate following four years of perseverance through financial crises and investor skepticism. This trajectory underscores the founders' philosophy that success demands rigorous partner selection, resilience against failure, and a relentless focus on refining core user experiences rather than scaling prematurely.

Mark Zuckerberg at Startup School 2013

Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Sean Parker, David Zipursky

Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook from a Harvard dormitory to solve personal connectivity issues by prioritizing real identity and bidirectional friend networks over generic sign-ups, eventually outmaneuvering competitors at Yale, Stanford, and Columbia. The platform's rapid expansion was driven by a strategic focus on maximizing network effects and a "lockdown" response to threats like College Facebook, though the company still struggles to surpass regional rivals like VKontakte in markets with distinct legal environments. Zuckerberg's subsequent mission to connect the global unconnected population via Internet.org reflects his belief that successful startups require an irrational commitment to a core outcome while maintaining a culture that hires superiors and learns rapidly from errors.

Jack Dorsey at Startup School 2013

Jack Dorsey

The session explores the convergence of Robert Henry's philosophy on intrinsic creativity and Bill Walsh's disciplined approach to organizational excellence, emphasizing that true mastery requires a personal "standard of performance" rather than external validation. Speakers detail how leaders must actively combat the "success disease" by establishing specific "Do and Don't" lists that enforce accountability, prevent complacency, and drive innovation through shared purpose rather than comfortable routines. Ultimately, the dialogue urges creators and executives to embrace solitude, reject conventional shortcuts, and build products that resonate deeply by remaining fiercely committed to their own vision.

Diane Greene at Startup School 2013

Diane Greene

VMware co-founder Dawn Foster Leverett narrates the strategic trajectory of her company, from its 1998 inception as a self-funded virtualization pioneer to its 2008 exit with a $2 billion run rate. The narrative details critical strategic pivots, including a calculated 2000 funding deal with Michael Dell to avoid a down round, a desktop-first product launch to bypass hardware dependencies, and a successful enterprise shift via hardware resellers despite initial legal hurdles. Foster concludes by reflecting on the interplay of calculated risk and fortunate timing, emphasizing that enduring enterprise success relies on delivering software that fundamentally improves customer operations.