Latest Interviews

Advancing Health Technology and Innovation

Jonathan Simons, Chris Austin, Annalisa Jenkins, Richard Merkin, Kim Nguyen, David Spetzler

Leading innovators and policymakers are convening to redefine healthcare delivery through a convergence of genomic editing, artificial intelligence, and cross-disciplinary collaboration rather than incremental improvements. Key figures emphasize leveraging technologies like CRISPR and deep learning to bridge the massive translation gap between molecular discovery and patient treatment, with the goal of curing rare genetic disorders and democratizing precision oncology. The discussion outlines a strategic framework for the UAE to leapfrog legacy systems by deploying high-impact solutions such as organ-on-a-chip models and AI-driven diagnostics to transform untreatable conditions into manageable outcomes within the coming decade.

Talks at GS – Telling the Human Side of the Refugee Crisis: “This is Home”

Alexandra Shiva, Princess Firyal of Jordan

Princess Feryal of Jordan and filmmaker Alexandra co-produced a documentary that chronicles the lives of four refugee families in Baltimore, specifically juxtaposing a humorous couple against educated professionals to humanize the displacement crisis. The film explores complex themes such as the psychological erosion of dignity among unemployed men, the enduring longing for a homeland, and the critical role of grassroots community integration in fostering stability. Drawing on Princess Feryal's advocacy, the project serves as a catalyst for local mentorship and political engagement, urging audiences to support international refugees while highlighting the disproportionate burden on host nations like Jordan.

Talks at GS – Virginie Morgon: A Global Outlook on the Future of Finance

Virginie Morgon

Virginie Morgan assumes the CEO role at private equity firm Eurasio in March, overseeing a strategic pivot from a France-centric model to a global expansion that prioritizes annual process reinvention and US market integration. Her macroeconomic outlook anticipates strong growth in Europe, China, and the US through 2018, though she flags late 2019 as a potential period of vulnerability. Concurrently, Morgan enforces a rigorous diversity mandate requiring female candidates for every hire and immediate intervention against disrespectful behavior, grounding her leadership in a personal ethic of self-respect and proactive career visibility.

How to stop the ivory trade

Dr Sam Wasser

African elephant populations face imminent extinction due to poaching driven by a $4,000 black market for ivory that funds militant groups like Boko Haram and the Lord's Resistance Army. Scientific forensics confirm that recent large seizures consist almost entirely of newly poached tusks originating from East African hotspots, a trend exacerbated by the 2008 decision to allow limited legal sales which blurred the line between legitimate and illegal stockpiles. While the United States and China have recently implemented near-total or complete bans to stifle demand and lower prices, conservationists argue that closing remaining legal markets, such as those in Britain, is essential to fully eliminate the illicit trade's supply chain.

How did Kosovo become a country?

Slobodan Milosevic, Petric Salimi

Following a brutal 1999 NATO intervention triggered by Serbian crackdowns and the Racak massacre, Kosovo declared independence in 2008 to establish a fragile democracy with a 33% unemployment rate. The nation remains deeply divided along ethnic lines as tens of thousands of Serbs fled, while the remaining minority continues to reject statehood and align with Belgrade. Despite these persistent tensions, both Kosovo and Serbia are pursuing European Union membership, recognizing that resolving their shared violent history is a prerequisite for regional integration.

Navigating Investments from Cryptocurrencies to Blockchain

Suna Said, Mike Novogratz, Charles Noyes, Bill Tai, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss

This panel of cryptocurrency experts defines Bitcoin as a protocol for digital scarcity and decentralized auditing while projecting that institutional derivatives will stabilize market volatility within the next decade. Experts analyze the speculative ICO landscape as a nascent "storytelling stage" and predict that decentralized applications and tokenized identity systems will achieve mass industrial adoption as trust in centralized banking continues to erode. Looking toward long-term displacement of traditional finance, the discussion highlights Bitcoin's potential to replace gold as the primary store of value for digital natives and anticipates a regulatory shift where major economies clarify standards to harness the technology's efficiency.

Talks at GS –Jonathan Haidt: The Psychology of Partisanship & Ethical Leadership

Jonathan Haidt, Tanya Cushman

Jonathan Haidt examines the drivers of modern political polarization, the evolutionary roots of moral intuition, and the declining resilience of students raised in hyper-protective environments. He argues that social and institutional design must shift from relying on individual character to implementing systemic "nudges" and inclusive frameworks that foster anti-fragility. Ultimately, while historical trends suggest long-term optimism, Haidt calls for immediate vigilance in repairing polarized institutions to prevent a trajectory of mutual hatred.

Winter sports are facing many challenges. Can they survive?

Rising temperatures and shifting consumer preferences are driving a decline in traditional European winter sports markets, threatening resorts that rely heavily on natural snow. In response, the industry is pivoting toward energy-intensive artificial snowmaking and seeking growth in Asia, where markets in China and South Korea are expanding despite their own climate challenges. This adaptation strategy aims to preserve mountain economies and secure future participation, though it risks increasing costs for consumers and creating a feedback loop that further accelerates environmental degradation.

Startup Investor School Preview with Geoff Ralston

Geoff Ralston, Craig Cannon

The inaugural Investor School offers a four-day hybrid course at Y Combinator's Mountain View headquarters and via live stream to train accredited individuals in the mechanics of angel investing. Led by experienced mentors, the curriculum covers deal structures, founder assessment, and portfolio management while leveraging historical case studies to teach risk mitigation and effective capital allocation. Participants gain practical insights into navigating modern funding landscapes, with applications now open to a targeted audience seeking to diversify the investor ranks and contribute capital to early-stage startups.

Bryan Cantrill: The Hurricane's Butterfly: Debugging Pathologically Performing Systems

Bryan Cantrill

Speaker argues that debugging pathological performance requires rejecting superstition and mechanical tuning in favor of rigorous observability to uncover root causes hidden within complex abstraction layers. By contrasting fatal crashes with elusive performance failures, the talk advocates for active instrumentation and visualization tools like state maps to distinguish symptoms from actual bottlenecks, as demonstrated in specific Sun E10K and Cassandra case studies. The presentation concludes that engineers must replace intuition with persistent data analysis to solve the "Software Paradox" where high-level bugs amplify into massive system-wide issues.

Talks at GS – Rajeev Misra: Creating Capital for the Future

Rajeev Misra

The SoftBank Vision Fund, a $100 billion vehicle that channels all SoftBank Group investments, targets late-stage private market leaders with a mandate to back 100 companies globally over three years. Its strategy prioritizes massive capital deployment to accelerate "winner-takes-all" expansion in China, India, and the U.S., often encouraging portfolio firms to raise more funds than initially planned to secure immediate global dominance. To ensure long-term liquidity and returns, the fund prefers IPOs or debt market access over secondary sales, aiming to validate its portfolio companies through public market performance within its 14-year maturity term.

Talks at GS – Bozoma Saint John: Driving Change at Uber & Beyond

Bozoma Saint John

In June 2017, Bozema St. John joined Uber as its inaugural Chief Brand Officer to lead a critical cultural pivot that addressed severe reputational damage and sexual harassment allegations under the company's previous leadership. Tasked with rebuilding trust and fostering inclusivity during the transition to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, St. John implemented a strategy integrating pop culture and authentic human narratives to transform the brand from a utility into a source of pride for drivers, employees, and diverse communities. Her approach emphasizes systemic change and genuine allyship, aiming to redefine Silicon Valley's image by centering underrepresented voices while rejecting performative gestures in favor of substantive organizational transformation.

Talks at GS – The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities & Race Relations in America

Stanley Nelson, Jr., Dr. Wayne Frederick, Johnny Taylor, Jr.

Documentary director Stanley Nelson and current Howard University president, the 17th and seventh Black individual to lead the institution, discuss the historical necessity and modern evolution of HBCUs, highlighting their role in transforming legal prohibitions against Black literacy into a premier engine for professional mobility. The conversation details how political pragmatism, exemplified by General Howard's 1867 chartering by President Andrew Johnson and Speaker Paul Ryan's restoration of federal funding cuts, has allowed 101 institutions to produce the majority of Black physicians and dentists despite a contemporary 40-year decline in Black male medical school applications. Ultimately, the speakers argue that maintaining access to these "unbridled opportunities" requires leaders to navigate complex political landscapes without compromising their identity, thereby ensuring HBCUs continue to provide the societal change that began during Reconstruction.

It's Surprising How Much Small Teams Can Get Done - Sam Chaudhary of ClassDojo

Sam Chaudhary, Karen Lien, Craig Cannon, Liam, Paul Graham, Jenna Klein, Chris Streeter, Carol Dweck

ClassDojo founders Sam Kiernan and Liam secured an investment from Y Combinator's Paul Graham by persistently demonstrating their platform's ability to bridge the gap between home and school communication while promoting growth mindset skills through collaborative content. Since its inception, the company has grown to serve over 300,000 schools globally with a lean team structure, relying on teacher-led adoption and radical transparency to maintain its human-centric mission. Now pivoting toward a direct-to-parent monetization model, ClassDojo aims to sustain its profitability while prioritizing educational equity and avoiding the surveillance capitalism practices common in the EdTech sector.

Alex Blumberg of Gimlet Media

Alex Blumberg, Craig Cannon

Gimlet Media acquires podcast talent by prioritizing visionary founders and magnetic hosts with at least 100,000 independent downloads, offering the human capital and marketing infrastructure needed to scale content quality. The company cultivates a non-partisan culture that values empathy and editorial execution, using practical hiring assessments to build teams capable of representing underrepresented voices. Driven by a strategy that leverages YouTube clips for discovery and adapts successful formats like true crime, Gimlet transforms independent audio concepts into sustainable, mainstream productions.