Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL Interviews the world's leading thinkers, and the people shaping the century.

600+
Interviews
3,000+
Quotes
1m+
Readers
15+
Years
Nobel
Laureates & World Leaders
A Conversation with Victor Vescovo: On Exploration, Risk and the Limits of Human Experience

May 22nd, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview I speak to Victor Vescovo - one of only two people ever to have stood at Earth’s highest peak, descended to its deepest trench, and looked back at the planet from space. A private equity entrepreneur, retired U.S. Navy Commander and pilot, he reflects on the genetics…

 

Incorruptible: Eric Ries on Why Good Companies Go Bad — and How to Build Ones That Don’t

May 21st, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview I speak to Eric Ries — creator of the Lean Startup method and founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange — he argues that corporate corruption is structural, not moral. We discuss his recent book ‘Incorruptible’, where he introduces the “spiritual holding company” as a governance blueprint for…

 

Predisposed, Not Predestined: Turi Munthe on Why We Think What We Think

May 21st, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview I speak to author Turi Munthe, who argues that climate, geography, genes, brain shape and ancestral agriculture quietly script our deepest beliefs. He explains why polarisation thrives on a false assumption — that opponents are broken versions of us — and why difference, pluralism and disagreement are…

 

Inside the GLP-1 Revolution: A Conversation with Professor Jens Juul Holst, Co-Discoverer of GLP-1

May 16th, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview, I speak to Professor Jens Juul Holst — co-discoverer of GLP-1, the gut hormone now powering the most consequential drug class of the century. He talks about how a Copenhagen experiment rewrote our understanding of obesity, why the gut behaves like a second brain wired into the…

 

Markets, Morals and the Road Ahead: A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Professor Alvin Roth

May 5th, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
I speak to Nobel Prize Winner, Professor Alvin Roth on 'Moral Economics', exploring repugnant transactions — exchanges willing parties want but others would ban. Drawing on kidney exchange, vaccine challenge trials, surrogacy, drugs and medical aid in dying, he argues most contested markets cannot be abolished, only relocated, and must…

 

The London Consensus: Chile’s Former Finance Minister Andrés Velasco on Why Ideas — Not Interests — Shape the World

April 8th, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview, I speak to Professor Andrés Velasco — Dean of LSE’s School of Public Policy, Chile’s former Finance Minister, and co-editor of The London Consensus. He argues that ideas, not interests, drive policy and makes the case for principles over prescriptions, wellbeing beyond GDP, narrative as a tool…

 

Poisonous People: Psychopathy, Narcissism, Manipulation, and Sadism — How to Resist Them and Improve Your Life

March 27th, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview I speak to Dr Leanne ten Brinke - an award-winning psychologist and associate professor at the University of British Columbia, where she directs the Truth and Trust Lab. Drawing on more than two decades of research into the dark tetrad — psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism —…

 

From Feature Engineering to Superintelligence: Richard Socher on the Next Frontier of AI

March 27th, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview I speak to Dr. Richard Socher — pioneer of neural NLP, inventor of widely used word vectors, and founder of You.com. He discusses his journey from contrarian Stanford researcher to building AI-powered search infrastructure, his vision for recursive self-improvement as the path to superintelligence, and his philosophy…

 

Nir Eyal: Why Belief — Not Talent, Effort, or Strategy — Is the Real Driver of Human Performance

March 26th, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
You know what to do. So why aren’t you doing it? In this interview, I speak to NYT bestselling author Nir Eyal — the man who wrote the book on habits, then the book on focus — argues the missing variable isn’t discipline or strategy. It’s belief. And belief, it…

 

Nature’s Last Dance: Natalie Kyriacou on Extinction, Wonder, and Why Hope Is Non-Negotiable

March 23rd, 2026 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
Award-winning environmentalist Natalie Kyriacou OAM, author of Nature’s Last Dance, challenges our most fundamental assumptions about human intelligence, progress, and our relationship with nature — making a compelling case that wonder, storytelling, community, and active hope are our most powerful tools in the race against extinction.

 

Explore an archive of more than 3,000 quotes.

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Democracies are not very good at long term planning in general and population ageing is the utmost long term planning.

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Everyone can perform magic, everyone can reach his goals, if he is able to think, if he is able to wait, if he is able to fast. We all have the ability to perform magic, to endure, to push ourselves beyond our limits, if we have the patience and the resilience.

— David Blaine
Illusionist & Street Magician Known for Endurance Stunts & Television Specials
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Most people would have a nervous breakdown if they didn't have their phone for a day; I would have a total breakdown if there was no culture, no art. I couldn't live without art, it would be impossible.

— Tracey Emin
British artist known for provocative conceptual and autobiographical works
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There's this wonderful intersection where I've personally felt successful for quite some time. I truly believe I'm living out my purpose. It reminds me of the saying, 'remember the time you wished for the things you have now.' I'm living that dream.

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It’s more like a you problem than a them problem. You have a problem with their behaviour, but they don’t have the same level of empathy or concern for others. So why would they care about it?

Browse all quotes →

Long-form Interviews with the World's Leading Thinkers — Thought Economics

The Wisdom Series

Ten in-depth articles distilling insights from over 550 interviews with the world's leading thinkers, creators, and changemakers.

The Wisdom of Leadership The Wisdom of Entrepreneurship The Wisdom of Creativity The Wisdom of Technology The Wisdom of Meaning The Wisdom of the Mind The Wisdom of Justice The Wisdom of Science The Wisdom of Geopolitics The Wisdom of Health
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