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

In this interview I speak to Rachel Botsman- author, designer, and lecturer renowned for her work on trust and societal change. A leading expert in the field, she has written three influential books—What’s Mine Is Yours, Who Can You Trust?, and How to Trust & Be Trusted—translated into 14 languages. As a…

 

In this interview, I speak to Daniel J. Levitin- an award-winning neuroscientist, musician, and best-selling author. His research encompasses music, the brain, health, productivity, and creativity. He is the author of four New York Times bestselling books: This Is Your Brain On Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized…

 

In this interview I speak to Andrew Gallimore, a neurobiologist, chemist, pharmacologist, and writer interested in the relationship between psychedelic drugs, the brain, consciousness and the structure of reality. His collaboration with Dr Rick Strassman on extended state DMT pharmacokinetic model and first book “Alien Information Theory: Psychedelic Drug Technologies…

 

In this interview, I speak to Professor César A. Hidalgo, a physicist and global leader in the field of economic complexity. He leads the Center for Collective Learning at the Toulouse School of Economics and Corvinus University of Budapest, is the founder of DataWheel, and author of Why Information Grows.…

 

In this interview, I speak to veteran science broadcaster and journalist Jay Ingram, author of twenty popular science titles, including the bestselling Science of Why series. In hiss latest book The Science of Pets, he researched the latest science behind our beloved furry, and not-so-furry, creatures that sleep on our…

 

In this interview, I speak to Bastian Bergmann, the author of "Press Play - Why Every Company Needs a Gaming Strategy." Bastian is cofounder and Chief Operating Officer of Solsten, a technology startup that empowers companies to create personalised content using AI and psychological data. Among its customers are globally…

 

Dr. Russell Kennedy—known to many as The Anxiety MD—is a physician, neuroscientist, and leading voice on the emotional and physiological roots of anxiety. Drawing on his own lived experience with childhood trauma and years of clinical practice, Kennedy has developed a unique mind–body approach to healing, blending neuroscience, developmental psychology,…

 

In these conversations, I spoke with three of the world’s foremost thinkers on AI safety, risk & governance —Clark Barrett (Professor of Computer Science at Stanford and Co-Director of the Stanford Center for AI Safety), Nick Bostrom (Founder of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University and the Macrostrategy…

 

In this interview I speak to one of the world’s foremost experts on social hierarchies, Toby E. Stuart. Professor Stuart is the Leo Helzel distinguished professor of business administration at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, and author of Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World. He is…

 

Explore an archive of more than 3,000 quotes.

It's not that capitalism is failing, but rather that the organisation of capitalism is succumbing to wealth and power. People with extraordinary power and wealth will organise and enforce markets in such a way that it benefits their wealth and adds to their power- it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy- a vicious cycle of more wealth and power.

— Robert Reich
Labor Secretary & Economist; Leading Voice on Inequality

I believe that if we want technological innovation to live up to its potential, we have to ensure that everyone has access to it. If technology is just for the privileged few, then it will concentrate power in the hands of those who already have it.

— Melinda Gates
Co-Founder of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Health Advocate

The oral care industry and oral products is mainly made out of three or four companies that control 90% of oral care products in the world. All multibillion-dollar, multinational companies. I don't think these companies are stupid. They are run by very intelligent people, but I think the premise has been wrong.

You have to take bullsh** and turn it into fertiliser.

— Will.i.am
Grammy-Winning Producer, Rapper & Innovator from Black Eyed Peas

I'm a firm believer that creativity comes from restrictions, so I'm really grateful that I grew-up with so many restrictions around me. When you give people limitations and say, 'here's a canvas, but you can only paint with yellow..' – the wheels start turning, and you plan to get out of the box you're put in.

— AJ Mendez
Professional wrestler and WWE performer, known as AJ Lee

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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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