From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
Architecture has the power to democratize space - to create environments where all people, regardless of their background, can participate in civic life.
We were both passionate that we wanted to really make a difference; soup kitchens are good, but they don't prevent homelessness. You can go to volunteer at a soup kitchen every day of the year, and you'll still have homeless people. We wanted to tackle root causes and tackle them globally.
The EU needs reform. Countries have transferred jurisdiction over legislations to a centre that makes decisions in somewhat of a vacuum, featuring a European Parliament that cannot itself initiate legislation. We have a paradox therefore where national parliaments give certain powers to the centre, without being compensated through the creation of an essential federal sovereignty; this is ineffective, and denying this is not helping us debate what is wrong with the EU and how to fix it. We need to work together as nations to reform and democratise EU institutions.
If Russia or China try to fly a plane into the United States, they'll be shut down by a USAF F35 that we spent a trillion-dollars developing. Meanwhile, if they try and fly an information plane into the United States they're met with Facebook and Google algorithms that run an auction to enable them to get the maximum audience, for the cheapest price. They're met with a white glove that takes them directly to their target.
We are the only species who have taken control of their evolution. We are animals who – one day – had an idea to become better. Billions of us have worked to make ourselves better – that's why we created the concept of God, an entity that is everywhere, that is powerful, that is the master of everything, that gives us a unique model for our society. Now we know God doesn't exist, and so we know we are better than that notion of God.
About ten years, a guy told me about his father's death. He had to send twenty seven people on different buses and trains to inform relatives all over the country because phones didn't work. When his mother died, there were STD/PCO facilities in most-all villages. He had to only make twenty seven calls, and they were all informed in under half an hour.
For me, sports were a sanctuary, the only place where I felt at home, could connect with others, and navigate my life and pain. Many NGOs already focus on essential aid and medical needs, so our foundation aims to complement these efforts by introducing sports.
In order to fix bias you have to admit to them, you have to admit they exist and bring them out of the shadows. Then you can call them out.
The twentieth century has been called the century of the homeless man. The number of persons permanently displaced for political reasons as a result of wars, treaties or sometimes obscure reason is startling.
There are very few African-American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me... And there are very few African-American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars.
When our original participants reached approximately 80 years of age, we invited them to reflect on their lives. We asked, 'What are your greatest sources of pride, and what are your deepest regrets?' The predominant regret was the disproportionate time spent working and the inadequate time spent with loved ones.
America has a class system, and it's becoming more rigid all the time. As inequality widens the ladder becomes so long that you have little hope of getting too far up it in your lifetime.