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

The Age of Outrage & How to Lead in a Polarised World – A Conversation with Professor Karthik Ramanna

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview, I speak to Professor Karthik Ramanna, one of the world’s foremost experts on governance and leadership in crisis. We discuss the reasons why our world feels so outraged- and how leaders can build resilient organisations which can make sense of outrage, turn down the temperature, progress through…
17-09-2025 19:50:58
Thought Economics

 

A Conversation with Renée DiResta, One of the World’s Foremost Experts in Online Manipulation, Disinformation, Conspiracy Theories & Scams.

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
Renée DiResta is a highly regarded expert and speaker on adversarial abuse online – in other words, on how bad actors manipulate the digital public square. From spammers and scammers to state sponsored trolls, she investigates how social media platforms and technologies (such as generative AI) are used for evil. Although…
17-09-2025 19:51:17
Thought Economics

 

A Conversation with One of the World’s Most Experienced Kidnap-For-Ransom & Hostage Negotiators, Scott Walker.

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview I speak to one of the world's most experienced kidnap-for-ransom negotiators, Scott Walker, who has successfully resolved over 300 life-or-death crises, facing down gang leaders, pirates, cyberhackers, and extortionists. Scott spent 16 years as a Scotland Yard detective engaged in counter-terrorism and kidnapping operations. He left the…
17-09-2025 19:51:30
Thought Economics

 

Learnings from Six Months in Space: A Conversation with NASA Astronaut, Cady Coleman.

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview I speak to Cady Coleman, a former NASA Astronaut & Retired US Air Force Colonel with more than 180 days in space including two shuttle missions and a six-month expedition to the International Space Station. In our conversation, we discuss the learnings we can take for our…
17-09-2025 19:51:42
Thought Economics

 

A Conversation with Ron Shaich – Founder of Panera Bread & Au Bon Pain & CEO of ACT III Holdings

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview, I speak to Ron Shaich, the extraordinary entrepreneur who founded Panera Bread and Au Bon Pain. We discuss the realities of life as an entrepreneur and what it takes to build a $multi-billion business, with over 100,000 employees. He is also the author of the best-selling book…
17-09-2025 19:53:41
Thought Economics

 

How Tetris Became the Most Popular Game in History, a Conversation with Alexey L. Pajitnov (Creator of Tetris), Henk Rogers (Founder & Chairman, The Tetris Company) and Maya Rogers (President & CEO, Tetris, Inc)

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
Tetris is the top-selling video game of all time - played in more than 200 countries, with over 520 million units having been sold and nearly 700 million downloads on mobile devices. Tetris is also one of the most studied games in history with over 30 scientific studies, showing the…
17-09-2025 19:53:53
Thought Economics

 

The Neuroscience of Habituation & How it Shapes our Lives – A Conversation with Professor Tali Sharot

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
Have you ever noticed that what is thrilling on Monday tends to become boring on Friday? Even exciting relationships, stimulating jobs, and breathtaking works of art lose their sparkle after a while. People stop noticing what is most wonderful in their own lives. They also stop noticing what is terrible.…
17-09-2025 19:54:09
Thought Economics

 

How the Foreign Lobbying Industry Threatens Global Security – A Conversation with Casey Michel

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
Casey Michel is an author, journalist, and director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program with the Human Rights Foundation. He is the author of American Kleptocracy, named by The Economist as one of the 'best books to read to understand financial crime.' He has also testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on…
17-09-2025 19:54:21
Thought Economics

 

Transformational Philanthropy – A Conversation with Afam Onyema, CEO of the GEANCO Foundation

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
The GEANCO Foundation is an exemplar in the delivery of complex philanthropic projects in Africa. They lead complex surgical missions to Nigeria, and through a network of modern, solar-powered rural family clinics, they help pregnant women to safely deliver healthy babies & vaccinate infants. GEANCO schools and education programs are…
17-09-2025 19:54:35
Thought Economics

 

The Secrets Behind the World’s Most Successful Startups – A Conversation with Mike Maples Jr, One of the World’s Top Venture Capitalists.

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
Mike Maples Jr. is a co-founding Partner at Floodgate.  He has been on the Forbes Midas List eight times in the last decade and was also named a “Rising Star” by FORTUNE and profiled by Harvard Business School for his lifetime contributions to entrepreneurship. Before becoming a full-time investor, Mike was…
17-09-2025 19:55:35
Thought Economics

 

A Conversation with James Nestor on the Secrets of Breath.

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview, I speak to James Nestor (author of ‘Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art’) we discuss his extraordinary journey understanding how modern civilisation has forgotten the importance of the most important thing we do, breathing. We discuss the impact that poor breathing has on our health…
17-09-2025 19:55:48
Thought Economics

 

A Conversation with Pioneering Brain Surgeon & Neuroscientist, Rahul Jandial on Why We Dream.

September 17th, 2025 · by Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL
In this interview, I speak to pioneering brain surgeon & neuroscientist Rahul Jandial (author of ‘This is Why You Dream’) about the extraordinary way neuroscience and medicine are helping us unlock the fundamental question of why we dream, the impact dreaming has on our lives, and how dream science is…
17-09-2025 19:56:00
Thought Economics

 

All Interviews  (599)
In this interview, I speak to Professor Paul Eastwick, Professor of Psychology at UC Davis, where he serves as head of the Social-Personality Psychology program and director of the Attraction and Relationships Research Laboratory. He has published over one hundred scientific articles and chapters, and his research has been featured…
Business & Economics  (354)
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…
Culture, Society, Sports & Arts  (231)
In this interview, I speak to Professor Paul Eastwick, Professor of Psychology at UC Davis, where he serves as head of the Social-Personality Psychology program and director of the Attraction and Relationships Research Laboratory. He has published over one hundred scientific articles and chapters, and his research has been featured…
Health & Medicine  (69)
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,…
Nobel Laureates  (20)
Politics & Policy  (164)
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.…
Science & Technology  (128)