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

“Can you hear me OK? It’s not a great line…” those were some of my first words to Frederik Paulsen, Jr. – the Chairman of Ferring Pharmaceuticals; a company he inherited as a small family concern (with revenues of around U$15 million), and which he turned into a global biopharmaceuticals…

 

The Story of Humanity’s Relationship With its Most Precious Resource.  In this interview series we speak to Guy Ryder (Chair, UN-Water & Director General of the International Labour Organisation, ILO), Professor Steven Chu (Nobel Prize Winning Scientist & 12th U.S. Secretary of Energy), Dr Peter Gleick (President Emeritus & Chief…

 

In this article we talk to Frank Willem (FW) de Klerk (Former President of South Africa and Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize), George Takei (Actor & Social Justice Activist), Prof. Githu Muigai (Attorney General of Kenya), Patrisse Cullors (Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter), Dr. Nils Muiznieks (the Council of…

 

In these exclusive interviews we speak to Sir Antony Gormley (One of the world’s most influential sculptors), Bear Grylls (Adventurer, TV Host & Author), Marina Abramović (internationally acclaimed performance artist), Sir Ken Robinson (widely considered to be the world’s foremost expert on creativity, innovation and human resources in education and…

 

The Power of Poetry and the Written Word: In this exclusive series of interviews, we speak to Dr Maya Angelou (1928-2014, a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist), Sir Andrew Motion (Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009, Founder of…

 

Explore an archive of more than 3,000 quotes.

Instead of militaries fighting militaries, we now have militaries or military motivated agents that are able to activate civilians in each other's countries. Social media is global national security threat, and one that we're not even spending billions of dollars to protect against.

— Tristan Harris
Design ethicist & founder of Center for Humane Technology

My life's mission is to dismantle the notion of mental illness altogether. I detest it. It only serves to shame and stigmatise those with brain health challenges, which is utterly wrong.

— Dr. Daniel Amen
Psychiatrist & Brain Imaging Expert Known for ADD/ADHD Research & Treatment

I got into boxing promotion by accident. I went to the meeting, turned around and said, 'I don't need you, we'll promote it...' I don't know why I even said that! The next minute, I was in the promotion business and helping to get this thing together; I got bitten by the bug, and it went from there.

— Frank Warren
Founder of PostSecret, anonymous confessions project & book series

When it comes to acquisitions, many people jump straight to analyzing the financial returns. I approach it differently. I start by asking: How will our customers benefit from this acquisition?

— John Chambers
Former CEO of Cisco Systems, led company through internet boom era

We have to interact with everyone so no one feels left out or ashamed; these negative emotions can kill curiosity and creativity.

— May-Britt Moser
Neuroscientist; Nobel Prize for discovering brain's positioning system cells

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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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