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

My interview with reMarkable CEO, Phil Hess. We discuss the thesis behind reMarkable that led to the creation of one of Europe’s fastest growing technology companies, and a product with millions of users, which made Time magazine’s list of Best Inventions of 2020. Phil digs into reMarkable’s traction and growth,…

 

In this interview I speak to Professor Marc Brackett, one of the world’s foremost experts in the science and psychology of emotion. Marc is the founding director of the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence, and author of the international best-selling book, Permission to Feel. In this powerful discussion, Marc helps…

 

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…

 

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…

 

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…

 

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.…

 

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…

 

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…

 

Explore an archive of more than 3,000 quotes.

I feel it's such a wonderful thing to be able to leave the tyranny of gravity to leave the ground and fly wherever you will.

— Richard Dawkins
Evolutionary Biologist & Author of "The Selfish Gene

The central premise of my book, the concept of the brain being 'rewired', essentially posits that any change in our behavior results in a change in our brain. This isn't mere conjecture; it's a neurobiological fact. Small behavioral changes trigger small changes in the brain, whereas significant behavioral shifts lead to substantial neural alterations.

Everyone has important skills and likely unique skills, but they may not always be as confident in those skills as they should be. We need to challenge the notion that if you don't feel like a superhero, then you must not be the right person for the job. Being underestimated in that way often brings out the best in me. For me, it's not just about overcoming insecurity but leveraging it as a catalyst to ensure that I bring everything I have to the mission.

— Cady Coleman
NASA Astronaut & Space Shuttle Mission Specialist

For me, that's the foundation of songwriting: improvisation. In improvisation on instruments, I feel creation is going a new path with every note, somewhere you haven't been before. You discover things, you're the adventurer in music.

— Toby Gad
Grammy-nominated music producer and songwriter behind major pop hits

Crime itself can increase inequality. A doubling in crime increases the Gini coefficient by 3% to 4%. When crime increases twofold the share of the rich tercile drops by 1.3%, and the share of the population in the poorest tercile increases.

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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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