Latest Interviews
Showing 5071–5085 of 5,331 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute55 min
Bridging the College Gap: Preparing Low-Income Students to Succeed
Tom Boysen, Elaine Nguyen, George Weiss, Anna McCullough, Michael Lomax, Stephen Knapp
Moderator Tom Boysen led a panel of business leaders and education experts in diagnosing the stagnation of low-income student outcomes despite forty years of federal spending, highlighting how socioeconomic status increasingly overrides academic ability in degree attainment. The discussion showcased transformative models from organizations like Say Yes to Education and QuestBridge that combine full tuition coverage with holistic supports such as mental health services and mentorship to achieve graduation rates significantly higher than national averages. While panelists identified political gridlock and a lack of accountability mechanisms in higher education as major obstacles, they concluded that philanthropy and local community accountability must drive the systemic revolution required to scale these successful interventions.
- Milken Institute57 min
Lunch Program | Global Overview: Where Does Growth Come From?
Tony Blair, Paul Kagame, Scott Minard, Osamu Nakayama, Wilhelm Buter, David M.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and leading economists from Guggenheim Partners and Citicorp convened to analyze global challenges ranging from the Ukraine conflict and Middle East peace efforts to US interest rate projections and China's credit bubble risks. The panelists identified Sub-Saharan Africa as a critical long-term investment opportunity while warning that Japan's aging demographics and Europe's structural constraints require immediate policy adjustments to prevent stagnation. Ultimately, the discussion emphasized the necessity of structural reforms in Eastern Europe and the United States to sustain economic recovery amidst geopolitical instability and shifting market dynamics.
- Milken Institute57 min
America's Debt and the Economy: A Hard Look at Public Spending and Finance
Doug, Maya, Gene, Maria, Steve, Jean
Federal officials warn that rising mandatory spending on entitlements and surging interest costs have eroded U.S. fiscal flexibility while displacing investment in research and infrastructure. Despite the absence of immediate market panic, deep political gridlock and a collapsed bipartisan consensus are preventing the structural reforms needed to address long-term debt projections. Experts suggest that avoiding a grand bargain will likely result in continued incremental stagnation unless leaders adopt a culture of principled compromise to reallocate resources toward future growth.
- Milken Institute59 min
Where in the World Are the Real Estate Opportunities?
Bill Kahana, Bill McMorrow, Jonathan Pollock, Henry Silverman, Sam Zell
Real estate leaders including Sam Zell and Bill McMorrow outlined a strategic pivot toward emerging markets like Colombia and Mexico while identifying Europe's recovery as a key opportunity despite geopolitical tensions from the Ukraine crisis. The panel highlighted a structural shift in the US multifamily sector driven by demographic changes that favor renting, alongside a return of robust debt capital that contrasts with the excessive leverage of 2007. Ultimately, the consensus emphasized high-yield sectors such as healthcare, select-service hospitality, and urban-centric assets, with specific recommendations ranging from Mexico's manufacturing boom to Miami's de-risked development environment.
- Milken Institute55 min
Why Wait? Young People Blazing Trails
Willow Bay, Adai Williams, Wynter Wanecki, Jack Andraka, Mary Patricia Hector, Flynn McGarry
Moderator Willow Bay convened a panel of five young innovators—including scientist Jack Andraka, gun violence advocate Mary Patricia Hector, and musicians Adai Williams and Wynter Wanecki—to discuss how they overcame institutional barriers and age-related skepticism through rigorous self-directed education and intense work schedules. These participants detailed their specific breakthroughs, such as Andraka's low-cost pancreatic cancer detection technology and Hector's "Think Twice" campaign, while emphasizing that parental flexibility and a global internet connection were critical enablers of their success. Ultimately, the group argued that adults should view youth as vital assets capable of driving social change, urging a shift away from viewing age as a liability and toward fostering environments where young people can execute their visionary projects.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Brand Battlefield: Mobile and Social Networks
Sean Amos, Josh Mandel, Bonin Bow, Jamie Goodfriend, David Rockefeller Jr., John McWhorter, Eric Schmidt, Josh Tenenbaum, Jimmy O., Kathleen King, Mike McDonald, Serena Rosso, Ron, Nick Smoot, Carolina Tolberti
The discussion highlights a decisive market shift where social media usage now surpasses television, driving 84% of purchasing decisions through peer influence while Millennials command $400 billion in projected spending. Brands like Mondelēz International are responding by realigning strategies toward mobile-first approaches and real-time engagement, exemplified by the Honey Maid campaign's rapid crisis-to-opportunity turnaround. This transformation is further fueled by organizational changes where executive sponsorship and machine learning empower sales teams to replace compliance silos with authentic relationship building.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
The Words (and Images) That Work in 2014
This presentation analyzes the collapse of American optimism and the resulting public demand for accountability across business, education, and politics. The speaker highlights that trust in institutions has eroded due to a disconnect between expectations and reality, arguing that terms like "performance," "imagine," and "accountability" resonate far more effectively than traditional corporate or political buzzwords. By shifting communication strategies from self-centered metrics to universal, results-oriented narratives, the session urges leaders to leverage existing public trust in business and science to rebuild hope and drive tangible societal change.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Housing Finance and Private Capital
Phil Swagel, Gene Sperling, Josh Rosner, Drew Newton, Jim Lockhart, Don Layton
Former officials and industry leaders including Gene Sperling, Josh Rosner, and Jim Lockhart debated legislative frameworks to dismantle the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac duopoly, agreeing on the necessity of explicit government backstops and private capital buffers while clashing over specific regulatory powers and market concentration risks. The discussion highlighted a White House push for an affordability fee and highlighted deep disagreements on whether current proposals contain sufficient "first-loss" provisions to prevent future taxpayer bailouts or if they dangerously concentrate risk among a limited pool of private investors. Ultimately, the panel identified a contentious path toward reform that requires balancing reduced government market share against the urgent need for modernized infrastructure and robust counter-cyclical regulations within a $10 trillion mortgage system.
- Milken Institute59 min
Abenomics in Japan: Are the Three Arrows on Target?
Mr. Honda, Paul Sher, John Kodonos, Ambassador Chen, Curtis, Madeline Antonsica, Alec Ellison, Wei-Ming Yuan, Alex von Furstenberg
Following two decades of stagnation driven by persistent deflation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched the "Abenomics" framework in 2013, uniting aggressive monetary easing under Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms. While these policies successfully shifted inflation expectations and expanded the central bank's balance sheet, the strategy faces significant headwinds including a consumption tax hike, a severe demographic decline, and skepticism regarding the depth of corporate governance changes. Although Japan retains unique advantages such as domestic debt currency and massive household savings, sustained economic recovery ultimately depends on the successful execution of long-term supply-side improvements to overcome bureaucratic barriers and low fertility rates.
- Milken Institute53 min
Global Risk
Jim Brooks, General Wesley Clark, Ambassador Hussein Haqqani, Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz
General Wesley Clark, Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz, Ambassador Hussein Haqqani, and Jim Brooks convened to analyze the global implications of Russian aggression in Ukraine, China's rising "China Dream," and instability in the Middle East and Latin America. The panelists collectively warned that U.S. reticence signals weakness to adversaries, urging an immediate shift from "leading from behind" to a strategy of robust defense for Ukraine, accelerated energy independence, and active support for opposition forces in Syria. They concluded that American global leadership is contingent upon restoring domestic economic vitality and reasserting credible hard power to prevent a geopolitical shift toward a new century of conflict.
- Milken Institute1h 12m
The Global Economy: Hoping for Momentum amid Tepid Times
Skip Reimer, Jim McCoggan, Terry Duffy, Alex Friedman, Joshua Harris, Alan Howard, Min Zhu
The 17th annual Milken Institute Global Conference convened 650 speakers, including Jim McCoggan, Joshua Harris, and IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu, to analyze diverging global monetary policies and tepid economic growth. Panelists debated U.S. GDP forecasts of 2.7% to 3% against risks from elevated valuations and potential recession, while highlighting Europe's banking deleveraging and emerging market vulnerabilities driven by China's credit boom. The discussion concluded with warnings that geopolitical tail events from the Russia-Ukraine crisis and regulatory fragmentation could disrupt market stability despite current low volatility.
- Milken Institute1h 49m
A Conversation With Financial Innovators
Lewis Ranieri, Richard Sandor, Myron Scholes, Michael Milken, Stacey Ward, Sri
The Milken Center for Financial Markets convened a panel of experts including Richard Thaler, Lou Sabino, and Mike Milken to critique the misalignment of regulatory structures with market realities, citing specific failures in housing, insurance, and climate policy. Speakers highlighted severe systemic issues ranging from the erosion of personal responsibility and inefficient government mandates to a $7 trillion outsourcing dilemma in mortgage servicing that threatens domestic job stability. The discussion concluded with a call for market-based solutions, such as pricing externalities and reforming complex legislation like Dodd-Frank, to restore structural strength and foster sustainable economic growth.
- Milken Institute7 min
2013GC Cyber Illusionist
Marco, self-described as a cyber illusionist, leverages magic to prototype future technologies by presenting "illusion glasses" that simulate augmented reality concepts independent of Google's Project Glass. He grounds his digital demonstrations in the esoteric symbolism of a standard 52-card deck, meticulously mapping suits to seasons, cards to lunar phases, and spot counts to the days of the year. After discussing the mathematical odds of skilled card handling, the performance culminated in a tangible trick revealing a real card to distinguish physical reality from simulated elements.
- Milken Institute1h 12m
The Path to Awakening
Shamar Rinpoche, Marc Junkunc, Skip Reimer, Lori Milken, Dr. Mark Junkins
At the Milken Institute Forum, Shamar Rinpoche, the 14th Red Hat Lama of Tibet, presented his secular commentary *The Path to Awakening* to a panel including Dr. Mark Junkins, addressing Western anxiety through non-sectarian mind training methods. Rinpoche outlined specific practices such as Tonglen meditation and the "horse eating grass" technique designed to help practitioners manage thoughts and emerge from dualistic illusions without requiring strict guru-disciple commitments. The session concluded with an electronic Q&A that clarified the relationship between ancient Buddhist concepts like karma and modern challenges, including the impacts of urban life, technology, and brain science on spiritual development.
- Y Combinator18 min
Jessica Mah at Female Founders Conference 2014
Indonero CEO Jessica Ma pivoted her company from a failing software startup that masked $80,000 in annual revenue to a profitable accounting service by abandoning vanity metrics and personally acquiring an IRS Enrolled Agent license. Following a severe operational collapse that required her to terminate the entire staff and move operations to her apartment, the restructured business now employs 50 people and secured its first profitable month through a high-value service model. This transformation underscores Ma's shift from arrogant speculation grounded in a "Bernie Madoff" façade to a grounded strategy defined by unapologetic confidence and honest stakeholder management.