Latest Interviews
Showing 6106–6120 of 6,329 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- a16z53 min
Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon
Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, Danny Warshay, Dan Galpin, Nick McEwen
A recent discourse at the University of Illinois and other institutions details a strategic pivot from theoretical academic purity to industry-focused entrepreneurship, driven by revised funding models and the removal of "dead end" stigmas. Speakers including Peter Thiel highlighted how this evolution is accelerating innovation in atom-based sectors and enabling computer science to revolutionize biology through real-time biometric monitoring. The discussion also critiqued outdated legislation like the Bayh-Dole Act while advocating for "Sherpa" leadership models where professors sponsor full-time teams of engineers to successfully transition academic concepts into viable commercial entities.
- Goldman Sachs10 min
Talks at GS – Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin: Changing the Face – and Format – of News
Danielle Weisberg, Carly Zakin
Co-founders Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin launched The Skimm in 2012 to bridge the news consumption gap for female millennials by delivering concise, nonpartisan global updates via email. The company now generates revenue through strategic brand partnerships and a forward-looking "Skim Ahead" subscription service, with the editors personally curating all content to maintain a trusted, conversational voice. As the business has grown, the founders have expanded their mission to address misinformation while advising new entrepreneurs to prioritize value articulation over academic credentials in a challenging startup landscape.
- Y Combinator2h 14m
IPFS, CoinList, and the Filecoin ICO with Juan Benet and Dalton Caldwell
Juan Benet, Dalton Caldwell, Craig Cannon, Dan Galpin, Francesc Campoy, Mark Mandelmann, Mark Blythouse, Mark Mandelbaum, Chris Broadfootnich
Protocol Labs, founded by Juan Bonet, is developing the InterPlanetary File System and its incentivized Layer-2, Filecoin, to transition internet infrastructure from centralized, location-based models to a decentralized, content-addressed network that ensures data sovereignty and censorship resistance. By replacing traditional venture capital with token-based funding models like CoinList, the organization enables long-term open-source research while utilizing Proof of Replication to create a liquid global market for unused storage capacity. This initiative aims to solve systemic inefficiencies in credit assignment and data redundancy, positioning Filecoin as a competitor to major cloud providers while fostering a new economy where protocol contributors are compensated directly through native network value.
- Y Combinator5h 9m
Female Founders Conference 2017
Avni Patel-Thompson, Emily Weiss, Laura Behrens Wu, Padmashree Warrior, Aileen Lee, Elizabeth Lyons, Vanessa Torridilla, Erica, Morgan de Bon, Diane Greene, Kirsty Nathoo, Carolyn Lebe, Anu Hariharan, Adora Chung, Jessica Livingston, Kat
The Female Founders Conference brought together prominent industry leaders like Avital Lee, Kate Winslet, and Aileen Lee to analyze the nine distinct factors that differentiate successful startups from unicorns. Prominent founders from companies such as Poppy, Glossier, and NIO shared case studies on overcoming funding rejections, pivoting from failure, and building inclusive cultures within male-dominated sectors. The event concluded with YC partners debunking common myths about early-stage investment while emphasizing that persistent storytelling and rigorous data preparation are essential for women founders navigating systemic bias.
- Y Combinator53 min
Ex Machina's Scientific Advisor - Murray Shanahan
Academician Roger Penrose details the historical persistence of the frame problem in artificial intelligence, tracing his own career shift from symbolic logic to computational neuroscience and back to a proposed synthesis of symbolic concepts within modern deep learning. Drawing parallels with the evolution of chess and Go under AlphaGo, Penrose critiques current AI's data inefficiency and lack of semantic understanding while offering insights from his consultation on the film *Ex Machina* regarding the relationship between physical embodiment and consciousness. He concludes that while hardware capable of matching the human brain is imminent, achieving true Artificial General Intelligence still requires fundamental conceptual breakthroughs that transcend specialized algorithms or Asimov-style ethical constraints.
- Milken Institute1h 21m
Lunch Program: A Conversation with Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Jim Yong Kim and Jamie Dimon
Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Jim Yong Kim, Jamie Dimon, Michael Klowden, Willow Bay, David Rubenstein
The 20th Milken Institute Global Conference convened approximately 4,000 attendees from 60 nations to address the theme of "Building Meaningful Lives" through strategic pillars of capital access, job creation, and health. Key figures including U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon presented diverging perspectives on trade policy, global development, and domestic infrastructure reform. Their discussions emphasized shifting from GDP-centric metrics to human capital investment, while outlining specific strategies to overcome regulatory hurdles and automate job transitions to drive future economic growth.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Chess and the Art of War: Strategies That Win, from Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen, Erik Schatzker, Danny Rensch, DAN GALPIN, Rockwell Shaw, Frank Motek, Yascha Monk, Igor Tuchinsky, Steven Knapp, Toby Post, James Kuffner, Brett Bryan, Noaf Altari, Danny Kane, David Wall, Ari Milken, Bailey Milken, Eric Olives, Mike Tyson
World champion Magnus Carlsen demonstrated his elite cognitive endurance by winning most games in a rapid "sudden death" simul against ten opponents, including WorldQuant CEO Igor Tuchinsky and representatives from major tech and academic institutions. While adhering to a philosophy that prioritizes winning over artistic expression and relies on flexible physical optimization, Carlsen managed the extreme time pressure of ten-minute games by rapidly controlling the center and converting technical endgames. The event highlighted the intense mental strain of simultaneous high-level play, featuring a notable draw against David Wall that resulted from a clerical error where Carlsen mistakenly believed the game had concluded.
- Milken Institute59 min
Leading a Healthy Life
Paula Zahn, Rip Esselstyn, Michael O. Johnson, Erik Oberholtzer, Dean Ornish, Shazi Visram
Dr. Dean Ornish leads a panel demonstrating that integrated lifestyle interventions involving plant-based nutrition, stress management, and social connection can reverse chronic conditions ranging from heart disease to prostate cancer while simultaneously reducing long-term healthcare costs. The discussion identifies structural barriers such as food deserts and industrial subsidies as primary obstacles, proposing community-based solutions like affordable plant foods and distributed health platforms to ensure equitable access. Ultimately, the group concludes that individual behavioral choices, driven by the joy of living rather than fear, serve as the definitive determinant of health and can override genetic predispositions to prevent premature mortality.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
A Conversation with Sherry Lansing
Sherry Lansing, Stephen Galloway
Former 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures chairman Sherry Lansing spent 25 years leading Hollywood's most prominent studios, producing blockbusters like *Titanic* and *Forrest Gump* while overcoming gender bias and high-pressure production crises. In 2003, she transitioned from film to philanthropy, founding the Sherry Lansing Foundation to advance cancer research and education after a pivotal meeting with Jimmy Carter. Now 72, Lansing reports greater authenticity and joy in her charitable work than in her decades of studio management, with plans to remain active until age 100.
- Milken Institute1h 5m
MIc'd Up: Conversation with Robert Ballard, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Conversation with Katie Couric
Robert Ballard, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Katie Couric, Brian Sullivan, Buzz Aldrin
Oceanographer Robert Ballard contrasts the underfunded state of deep-sea exploration with NASA's space budget, highlighting discoveries of life origins at hydrothermal vents and the urgent need for sustainable aquaculture to address fishing depletion. Meanwhile, basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reflects on his 50-year mentorship with John Wooden, detailing how their cross-racial friendship navigated civil rights challenges and shaped his conversion to Islam. Together, these perspectives underscore the importance of expanding human knowledge in both the unmapped depths of the ocean and the diverse landscapes of society.
- 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 Institute35 min
MIc'd Up | Part 2: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Conversation with Katie Couric
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Katie Couric
In an upcoming podcast episode scheduled for May, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recounts his 1985 NBA championship victory over the Celtics, discusses his friendship with John Wooden, and details his 2009 leukemia diagnosis which has intensified his advocacy for social justice. He critically analyzes the Trump administration's tax and travel policies, attributes Hillary Clinton's 2016 loss to Electoral College mechanics, and argues that visual documentation of police brutality is shifting the national dialogue on race. The conversation, which also covers his religious conversion to Islam and the evolution of the NBA, was highlighted by President Obama awarding Abdul-Jabbar the Presidential Medal of Freedom for overcoming systemic biases in basketball.
- Milken Institute22 min
A Conversation with Jamie Dimon
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon argues that U.S. economic stagnation stems from bipartisan policy failures and structural issues like low labor participation and crumbling infrastructure, urging corporate leaders to prioritize national interests over parochial self-gain. He endorses the Trump administration's strategic focus on corporate tax reform, deregulation, and infrastructure investment as essential tools to reverse capital flight and stimulate job creation. While dismissing the prospect of seeking elected office, Dimon highlights JPMorgan Chase's rapid progress in diversity, noting that women and LGBT employees already comprise significant portions of its leadership pipeline.
- Milken Institute37 min
MIc'd Up | Part 2: A Conversation with Ernest Moniz
Ernest Moniz, Alan Schwartz, Alan M., David Sanger, Alan Magnuson
Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz outlines the strategic logic behind the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, emphasizing its unprecedented verification mechanisms and the administration's successful monofocus on nuclear containment despite broader regional tensions. Simultaneously, he details the Nuclear Threat Initiative's urgent efforts to secure high-enriched uranium and research reactors across the former Soviet bloc and Africa to prevent terrorist acquisition. These security measures are paired with a proposal to leverage the global energy transition, utilizing carbon capture and advanced storage technologies to create economic opportunities while reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
- Milken Institute26 min
MIc'd Up | Part 1: A Conversation with John S. Watson
John S. Watson, Brian Sullivan
Chevron CEO John Watson warns that California's aggressive regulatory framework has driven up energy costs, decimated manufacturing, and eroded the middle class, urging a return to free-market mechanisms to stabilize the industry. Despite these domestic headwinds, Watson outlines Chevron's aggressive global expansion strategy, which includes quadrupling Permian Basin output through capital generated by massive LNG investments in Australia and a joint venture with Exxon in Kazakhstan. While noting that OPEC's influence has waned in favor of shale producers and resilient Russian exports, the executive emphasizes that technological advancements are offsetting high exploration risks and driving wage growth in key U.S. energy hubs.