Latest Interviews

Talks at GS – Juan Enriquez: The Future of Humankind

Juan Enriquez, Tanya Cushman

Juan Enriquez posits that humanity has transitioned from natural selection to "human selection," granting the power to deliberately program the genetic code of all species and establishing the bio-economy as the dominant global force for the coming century. This biological revolution promises to eradicate diseases, regenerate complex organs, and replace animal agriculture through synthetic alternatives, while simultaneously raising ethical questions that Enriquez addresses by advocating for a 25% protected reserve of nature on Earth or in space. Looking further ahead, Enriquez predicts that non-invasive neural interfaces will soon bridge human consciousness with machines and that extraterrestrial life will likely be detected within five years, fundamentally altering our understanding of biology and our place in the universe.

Echoes of Fourier

The event explains how complex numbers and the Discrete Fourier Transform decompose audio signals into frequency components to enable the $O(n \log n)$ Fast Fourier Transform algorithm. It further details how the Convolution Theorem applies these principles to efficiently model acoustic environments and audio effects like reverb through multiplication in the frequency domain. Finally, the presentation addresses the numerical challenges of reversing these processes via deconvolution for applications such as echo removal and digital room correction.

Leah Culver of Breaker and Tom Sparks of YC Answer Your Questions About Security and Podcasting

Leah Culver, Tom Sparks, Craig Cannon

This event examines the intersection of government surveillance, device security, and startup culture, highlighting Apple's resistance to backdoors while detailing best practices for developers to protect sensitive data through iOS Keychains and robust multi-factor authentication. Speakers contrast the convenience of biometrics with their permanent compromise risks, advising users to combine passcodes with strong passcode habits to mitigate law enforcement access. The discussion concludes by outlining Breaker's vision to transform podcasting into a serialized content platform and identifying emerging opportunities in IoT security and passive bio-sensing technologies.

Tim Urban of Wait But Why

Tim Urban, Andrew Finn, Craig Cannon

Author and researcher Tim Urban leverages his *Wait But Why* blog to catalyze a cultural shift that encourages high-intelligence individuals to pursue careers in artificial intelligence and technology as a strategic response to humanity's imminent existential challenges. By framing the "Page 500" moment—a critical transition where human survival depends on mastering AI safety and overcoming the Fermi paradox's great filter—Urban argues that redirecting top talent toward these fields offers the most effective multiplier for global well-being. This perspective is grounded in a rigorous, multi-source research methodology designed to synthesize complex topics like CRISPR, VR, and space exploration into actionable insights for both creators and future tech workers.

Talks at GS – Naval Ravikant: The Capital Play Behind Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Naval Ravikant

The event examines blockchain technology as a novel governance mechanism that solves consensus problems without central authority, highlighting applications ranging from Bitcoin to decentralized identity networks. It details the stringent technical expertise required to navigate high-risk investment environments marred by market manipulation, insider trading, and the complexities of ICOs replacing traditional capital formation models. Finally, the presentation analyzes how national competitiveness is shifting toward reserve currency status and regulatory adaptability as governments confront the legal challenges of enforcing laws on code-based speech and decentralized networks.

Talks at GS –Jayne-Anne Gadhia: Driving Gender Equality in Business

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Sir Richard Branson

Upon returning to Virgin Money in 2006, CEO Jane-Anne Gaddier orchestrated a high-stakes acquisition of the distressed Northern Rock under Richard Branson's direction, transforming the brand into a safe, long-term legacy asset. Gaddier subsequently led a rigorous gender equality initiative that dismantled structural barriers by rejecting bonus data skewed against women and enforcing aggregate statistical parity in pay distributions. Her leadership also established a culture prioritizing output over presence and leveraging the Virgin platform to support executive civic engagement through strategic institutional and spousal support systems.

Talks at GS – Scooter Braun: Disrupting the Music Industry

Scooter Braun

Scooter Braun leverages a "why not" philosophy to transform from an underdog college promoter into a global music mogul who discovered Justin Bieber on YouTube and secured Psy's "Gangnam Style" by honoring the artist's original language. His management strategy emphasizes translating creative genius for corporate partners, most notably negotiating a landmark partnership between Kanye West and Adidas that produced the brand's best-selling footwear. In a defining demonstration of his resilience, Braun proceeded with a high-risk benefit concert in Manchester following a 2017 terror attack, successfully rallying 60,000 attendees and 22 of the 23 victim families as a defiant response to violence.

Talks at GS – Satya Nadella: Hitting Refresh on the Culture of Technology

Satya Nadella, Marty

Satya Nadella outlines Microsoft's strategic pivot from siloed operations to a unified "One Microsoft" culture rooted in a growth mindset, explicitly linking diversity goals and executive compensation to foster innovation through empathy. He details the company's aggressive adoption of emerging technologies, including quantum computing and mixed reality, while emphasizing the critical challenge of transforming legacy business models to sustain profitability despite margin pressures. By prioritizing data privacy and trust as economic imperatives, Nadella argues that enduring leadership requires the boldness to redefine success metrics and embrace continuous organizational malleability.

Be Wary of Solving a Small, Rare Problem - Des Traynor of Intercom

Des Traynor

Des Traynor and Owen McCabe transitioned from a rejected academic study on code proficiency to founding the chat and messaging platform Intercom after discovering that in-app notifications drove superior customer engagement compared to legacy error-tracking tools. The company accelerated its growth by prioritizing timeless content marketing, manual onboarding, and a unified brand philosophy that aligned product features with the core mission of making internet business personal. Today, Intercom continues to evolve by shifting its messaging toward explicit ROI for enterprise clients while expanding into new sectors like soccer technology and financial simplification based on Traynor's insights into solving large, frequent problems.

Talks at GS – Haim Saban: The Life of a Media Mogul

Haim Saban

Haim Saban leveraged his early success in music and animation to create the Power Rangers franchise, a global phenomenon that generated over $10 billion in merchandise and led to the strategic acquisition of the Fox Family Channel. His 2001 investment in the bankrupt German broadcaster KirchMedia secured significant political backing from leaders such as Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, becoming a highly profitable venture with symbolic importance in post-war Germany. Throughout his career, Saban balanced these massive commercial achievements with a steadfast personal focus on family and active advocacy for the U.S.-Israel alliance.

Wake Up, Europe! Stories That Frame the Future

Jeremy Coller, Sylvia Earle, Lord Michael Hastings CBE, Baron Hastings of Scarisbrick, Jay Shetty, Jayne Van Hoen

Industry leaders Jeremy Collar, Sylvia Earle, Lord Hastings, and Jay Shetty present a unified framework for addressing global systemic risks by integrating sustainable investing, ocean conservation, pragmatic execution of the SDGs, and mental health education. Their collective analysis highlights how factory farming drives antimicrobial resistance, overfishing depletes critical ecosystems, and a lack of self-awareness exacerbates socioeconomic inequality, while offering specific pathways for capital reallocation and corporate reform. By mobilizing $4 trillion in assets and deploying audit skills in developing communities, these figures advocate for a transition from profit-centric models to strategies that prioritize ecological resilience and human well-being.

Expanding the European Economy: The Role of Capital Markets

Michael Milken, Robert Kricheff, Damian Lillicrap, Giuseppe Naglieri, Grace Peters, Mike Clowden, Mike Milken, Damien, Bob

At the 2017 Milken Institute Capital Markets Summit in London, moderator Mike Milken and a panel of financial leaders from J.P. Morgan, QSuper, and Shankman Capital analyzed the structural failures of Europe's bank-centric finance model, which they argue stifles SME growth and fuels political instability. The group contrasted this with the U.S. market's reliance on capital markets and the Australian pension system, advocating for regulatory reforms to diversify funding sources and encourage private equity and fintech to drive job creation. The panel concluded that addressing these capital access gaps through a Capital Markets Union and targeted investments in Latin America and Africa is critical to restoring middle-class prosperity and preventing democratic backsliding.

What's Driving the Asset Management Industry Today?

Karen Tso, Michael Freno, Michele Gesualdi, Rick Lacaille, Gregory Williamson, Greg Williamson, Rick Lakai

A panel of industry leaders including Michael Frino, Michele Gesualdi, Rick Lakai, and Greg Williamson analyzed the structural shift toward passive investing, warning that reduced capital for contrarian bets may create "autopilot" selling during corrections while active managers must prove net alpha to survive fee compression. The group projects an 18-to-24-month bull market supported by massive central bank liquidity injections, though inflation and geopolitical instability remain key risks that could trigger a regime change in global financial accommodation. Furthermore, experts predicted significant technological disruption from AI and blockchain that will force a bifurcation of the asset management industry, driving capital from public to private markets and reshaping fee structures as beta becomes a near-free commodity.

A Conversation with David Miliband

David Miliband, Jayne Van Hoen, Adam Boulton

At a recent event, International Rescue Committee leader David Miliband outlined the global displacement crisis involving 65 million people while detailing the organization's $100 million initiative to treat child trauma in the Middle East. Miliband sharply critiqued the Trump administration's withdrawal from international agreements and the UK's hard Brexit as destabilizing forces that exacerbate conflict and hinder effective humanitarian aid. He concluded by urging private sector engagement to shift refugee support from emergency relief to sustainable economic integration, arguing that displacement driven by fragile states and climate change will define the 21st century.

Talks at GS – Jeff Orlowski: Exploring the Global Effects of Climate Change

Jeff Orlowski

Director Jeff Walowski, whose documentary *Chasing Coral* premiered on Netflix in July 2024 after an official selection at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, utilizes time-lapse photography to reveal the accelerating global collapse of coral reef ecosystems. The film details how rising ocean temperatures have triggered the third mass bleaching event in history, threatening the food security and homes of hundreds of millions of people in low-lying island nations within the next three decades. While documenting these catastrophic shifts, Walowski frames the crisis as a reversible "planetary bankruptcy" issue, arguing that a rapid transition to sustainable practices can restore Earth's ecological balance without sacrificing economic growth.