Conversations with Mike Milken
136 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 34 ratingsCOVID-19 has changed the way we work and live. In response to the public health emergency, Milken Institute Chairman Michael Milken is engaging a range of industry leaders and medical experts to help us better understand and confront a crisis that has not only altered our current day-to-day but will change the course of how we work, socialize, and fight disease for years to come.
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Episodes
Ep. 25: Essential Work, with Kindercare’s Tom Wyatt
April 25, 2020 00:17 - 14 minutes - 12.8 MBTom Wyatt, CEO, KinderCare Education - “[Our teachers] write me, they call me, they are so taken aback by the grateful comments they get, the emotional letters and emails they get from the doctors and nurses and others saying that they could not be doing their work without our support.” With more than two-thirds of his 1,500 KinderCare centers now closed, Tom Wyatt feels it is his civic duty to keep the remaining ones open to serve the children of parents who must work—including those on the...
Ep. 24: The Right Thing, with Children’s National Hospital’s Kurt Newman
April 24, 2020 05:41 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBKurt Newman, President and CEO, Children’s National Hospital - “We've been around for 150 years and we want to be around for another 150 years. So we'll figure out a way to deal with the finances. Right now we're just focused on doing the right thing for these kids and families.” Putting patients first—in this case, young patients who often require special care and immediate attention—has long been Kurt Newman’s priority at Children’s National. This conviction has held true through the unprec...
Ep. 23: Curveball, with Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred
April 24, 2020 04:39 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBRob Manfred, Commissioner of Baseball - “They may not be perfect with large crowds at Dodger Stadium. It may look a little different. But I really am committed to the idea that it's important as part of our recovery to get the game back on.” A month after what would have been opening day, the national pastime remains in limbo. For Commissioner Rob Manfred, deciding when to play ball this year means reflecting on the example set by his predecessor after 9/11, when baseball helped bring America...
Ep. 22: Gaining Ground, with Amgen's Robert Bradway
April 23, 2020 03:46 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBRobert Bradway, Chairman and CEO, Amgen - “This is, of course, unlike anything any of us have experienced before. This synchronous global shutdown caused by what is a pretty tricky virus – a virus that had a head start on all of us. But we're gaining ground fast.” Under Robert Bradway’s leadership, Amgen is aggressively pursuing SARS-CoV-2 on a number of fronts. Some of their efforts build on past successes, focusing on antibodies and the immune system. Another looks to the small island nat...
Ep. 21: Ramping Up, With Novartis's Vasant Narasimhan
April 23, 2020 03:41 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MBVas Narasimhan, CEO, Novartis - “Our thinking is, how do we create a protease inhibitor that could work on future coronaviruses, not just the current coronavirus? … Fundamentally, our ability to withstand pandemics is likely going to center around our ability to think of this more as a defense topic than a health topic.” As the CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Vas Narasimhan knows what a unique moment in history this is. That’s why he’s spending hundreds o...
Ep. 20: Sounding the Alarm, with Entrepreneur Jeff Skoll
April 22, 2020 03:02 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBJeff Skoll Founder and Chairman, Skoll Foundation, The Jeff Skoll Group, Participant, and Capricorn Investment Group “About a month ago in the US we had about a thousand confirmed cases; today we have about 600,000. The developing world is very much on that same pathway.” Jeff Skoll knows pandemics. More than a decade ago he launched an organization whose current name reflects its mission: Ending Pandemics. Skoll, who once served as eBay’s first president, also sounded the alarm (presciently,...
Ep. 19: First Things First, with Senator Rick Scott
April 22, 2020 02:36 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBRick Scott US Senator; former Governor of Florida “If we do anything to get this economy going again, make it easy for the entrepreneurs in this country.” As two-term governor of Florida, Rick Scott led his state through crises including hurricanes, mass shootings, and the Zika virus. Now, as a US Senator, he’s helping see the nation through COVID-19. While the roles are different, Scott’s philosophy is the same: he spends his days listening and helping people solve their problems. A champion...
Ep. 18: Searchlight, with Senator Harry Reid
April 22, 2020 01:28 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MBHarry Reid Former US Senator “At this stage, we have to recognize that there’s going to be some downtime here. But I think that with the experience we’ve had around the country, especially in New York, it’s something we can handle.” Senator Harry Reid knows about handling adversity. Born during the Great Depression, he grew up in a shack in Searchlight, Nevada with no indoor toilet, telephone, or hot water. He fought—literally, as an amateur boxer—to earn money to advance himself. As a law st...
Ep. 17: Data-Driven, with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
April 21, 2020 05:29 - 19 minutes - 18.2 MBSteve Ballmer Founder, USAFacts; former CEO, Microsoft; Co-Founder, Ballmer Group; Chairman, Los Angeles Clippers “There is an information-collection problem from the counties, which is where most of the data lives. We've got a team that literally goes through both by hand and using technology. … one of the things I'd say we're very proud of is being able to help CDC with some of that.” In 1980, Steve Ballmer left Stanford’s MBA program to become Microsoft’s 30th employee. Thirty-four years...
Ep. 16: The Translator, with PCF’s Jonathan Simons
April 21, 2020 00:09 - 10 minutes - 14.3 MBJonathan Simons President and CEO, Prostate Cancer Foundation “This is why we all went into medicine—for moments like this where we come together.” For Jonathan Simons and the Prostate Cancer Foundation, global collaboration and team science were a way of life long before the pandemic. The organization’s support of groundbreaking science has changed our understanding of cancer—from organ-specific to mutation-specific—and has thus translated into effective solutions for patients across more ...
Ep. 15: The Record-Keeper, with Epic’s Judy Faulkner
April 21, 2020 00:01 - 15 minutes - 21.2 MBJudy Faulkner Founder and CEO, Epic “We do have a culture of ownership, of working hard, of wanting to be heroes helping heroes. That's one of the things you hear our staff say.” The story is familiar, even mythic: brilliant young student builds out a new technology in her garage and changes the world. But Judy Faulkner never made it to Silicon Valley. The medical software company she founded in a Madison basement four decades ago remains in Wisconsin—while Epic’s importance to the world of...
Ep. 14: Renaissance Woman, with Sue Desmond-Hellmann
April 17, 2020 21:36 - 13 minutes - 18.4 MBSue Desmond-Hellmann, former CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; former Chancellor, UCSF; former President of Product Development, Genentech From serving as a frontline physician treating HIV patients in Uganda, to overseeing new therapies for a leading biopharma company, to running a renowned health sciences university, to heading the world’s largest philanthropy – Sue Desmond-Hellmann has seen it all. It’s little surprise, then, that when she surveys the current pandemic she sees possible...
Ep. 14: Renaissance Woman, with Susan Desmond-Hellmann
April 17, 2020 14:36 - 13 minutes - 18.4 MBSusan Desmond-Hellmann, Former CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; former Chancellor, UCSF; former President of Product Development, Genentech From serving as a frontline physician treating HIV patients in Uganda, to overseeing new therapies for a leading biopharma company, to running a renowned health sciences university, to heading the world’s largest philanthropy – Sue Desmond-Hellmann has seen it all. It’s little surprise, then, that when she surveys the current pandemic she sees po...
Ep. 13: Community, with AARP’s Jo Ann Jenkins
April 16, 2020 22:24 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBJo Ann Jenkins CEO, AARP - “It is that American spirit and willingness to give of oneself to make life better for others that is behind everything that we do at AARP.” Since taking the helm of the largest nonprofit for Americans 50 and older, Jo Ann Jenkins has built a culture of community among her staff, 60,000 volunteers, and her organization’s 38 million members. Recently, this has been made easier by the fact that years ago she implemented powerful two-way communication infrastructure fo...
Ep 13: Community, with AARP’s Jo Ann Jenkins
April 16, 2020 15:24 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBJo Ann Jenkins CEO, AARP - “It is that American spirit and willingness to give of oneself to make life better for others that is behind everything that we do at AARP.” Since taking the helm of the largest nonprofit for Americans 50 and older, Jo Ann Jenkins has built a culture of community among her staff, 60,000 volunteers, and her organization’s 38 million members. Recently, this has been made easier by the fact that years ago she implemented powerful two-way communication infrastructur...
Ep. 12: A Global View, with EY’s Carmine Di Sibio
April 15, 2020 01:07 - 13 minutes - 18.8 MBCarmine Di Sibio, Global Chairman and CEO, EY “We've stressed to all our people and in particular our partners around the world that now is the time they really needed to be close with their clients, help them in any way they can, whether large clients, small clients and so forth, including doing work pro bono to make sure that they're surviving longer term.” For EY’s 300,000 global employees – including 25,000 in China – the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted what it means to serve client...
Ep. 11: Impatient, with Tempus/Groupon’s Eric Lefkofsky
April 14, 2020 05:36 - 15 minutes - 21.1 MBEric Lefkofsky, Founder and CEO, Tempus “Today, if somebody’s positive for COVID-19, it still doesn't tell you what's likely to happen next. And what we're trying to do by combining clinical and molecular data is really be able to predict what's likely to happen to them next.” When Groupon founder Eric Lefkofsky’s wife was diagnosed with cancer, he found a lack of data maddening. Outside of her hospital, it was the 21st century, but once he passed through the doors he felt he was being ushere...
Ep. 10: The Public Servant, with former FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg
April 10, 2020 23:05 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MBMargaret Hamburg, Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Medicine; Former Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration “I always said it was a question of when, not if, we would have to combat a global pandemic. But I never really thought I'd be watching it play out in real time.” Margaret “Peggy” Hamburg has devoted her life to elevating the best in public health while anticipating the worst. As New York City Health Commissioner, she curtailed the spread of tuberculosis. She served as sen...
Ep. 9: Shock Treatment, with Google's Eric Schmidt
April 10, 2020 00:52 - 17 minutes - 23.5 MBEric Schmidt, former CEO and Chairman, Google “We're going to need … some kind of shock treatment for seven, eight, nine days where we shut down everything to stop the spread…. And when I say shut down, I mean shut down.” That’s Eric Schmidt’s bold plan to put a stop to the pandemic so we can start to return the nation to some semblance of normalcy. Schmidt, who led Google from a startup to one of the largest and most influential companies in the world, now chairs the Defense Innovation Advis...
Ep. 9: Shock Treatment, with former Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt
April 09, 2020 17:52 - 17 minutes - 23.5 MBEric Schmidt, Technical Advisor, Alphabet, Inc. “We're going to need … some kind of shock treatment for seven, eight, nine days where we shut down everything to stop the spread…. And when I say shut down, I mean shut down.” That’s Eric Schmidt’s bold plan to put a stop to the pandemic so we can start to return the nation to some semblance of normalcy. Schmidt, who led Google from a startup to one of the largest and most influential companies in the world, now chairs the Defense Innovation ...
Ep. 8: Legacy, with former FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach
April 08, 2020 22:57 - 20 minutes - 28.4 MBAndrew von Eschenbach MD President, Samaritan Health Initiatives Inc.; former Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; former Director, National Cancer Institute “If we think of the game-changers of what is going to get America and the world back functioning normally, the FDA is probably right now the most central and critical of all the federal agencies.” Long before Andrew von Eschenbach served as Commissioner for the FDA, he was crucial to Mike Milken’s decades-long efforts to tran...
Andy von Eschenbach, President, Samaritan Health Initiatives Inc.; former Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; former Director, National Cancer Institute
April 08, 2020 15:57 - 20 minutes - 28.4 MBMike welcomes Andy von Eschenbach, President, Samaritan Health Initiatives Inc.; former Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; former Director, National Cancer Institute.
Ep. 7: Team Science, with MD Anderson’s James Allison and Padmanee Sharma
April 08, 2020 05:34 - 21 minutes - 29.1 MBMike welcomes two guests on this edition of the podcast: Pam Sharma and James Allison. Partners in marriage and professional collaborators, the couple are leading immunologists who have dedicated their careers to cancer treatment and research. Sharma is an immunologist and oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, while Allison serves as executive director of the Immunotherapy Platform at the same institution. In their conversation with Mike, they highlighted the primac...
Ep. 6: Mobilization, with George Washington University’s Lynn Goldman
April 08, 2020 04:58 - 10 minutes - 14.5 MBJoining Mike on this episode is Lynn Goldman. A pediatrician and epidemiologist, Goldman is the former assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the current Dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. With such an in-depth knowledge of epidemiology and related public policy, Goldman has been extremely busy in recent weeks. In her conversation with Mike, she describ...
Padmanee Sharma and James Allison, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas
April 07, 2020 22:34 - 21 minutes - 29.1 MBMike welcomes two guests on this edition of the podcast: Pam Sharma and James Allison. Partners in marriage and professional collaborators, the couple are leading immunologists who have dedicated their careers to cancer treatment and research. Sharma is an immunologist and oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, while Allison serves as executive director of the Immunotherapy Platform at the same institution. In their conversation with Mike, they highlighted the prim...
Lynn Goldman, Dean, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University
April 07, 2020 21:58 - 10 minutes - 14.5 MBJoining Mike on this episode is Lynn Goldman. A pediatrician and epidemiologist, Goldman is the former assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the current Dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. With such an in-depth knowledge of epidemiology and related public policy, Goldman has been extremely busy in recent weeks. In her conversation with Mike, she descr...
Ep. 5: Breaking the Code, with Nobel Laureate David Baltimore
April 07, 2020 02:08 - 13 minutes - 19 MBIn this episode, Mike speaks with David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate, member of the FasterCures board, In this episode, Mike speaks with David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate, member of the FasterCures board, and the current president emeritus; Robert Andrews Millikan professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology. Based on his extensive research into genetics and virology, Baltimore describes the different challenges posed by COVID-19, and how it compares to the progress made on p...
Ep. 4: Moonshot, with Johnson & Johnson’s Alex Gorsky
April 07, 2020 00:02 - 14 minutes - 19.6 MBAlex Gorsky Chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson “What we announced that day was that we have identified a lead candidate for COVID-19 vaccine…. This is a bit of a moonshot for us.” That’s Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky talking about the $1 billion partnership his company formed with BARDA, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. The company is ramping up so that if the accelerated clinical trials are successful, J&J will be prepared to produce and ship by early 202...
Ep. 3: Physician Heal Thyself, with Allogene’s Arie Belldegrun
April 06, 2020 23:50 - 18 minutes - 24.8 MBMike speaks with Arie Belldegrun, an oncologist and businessman who has built several biopharmaceutical companies over the past three decades. Both Belldegrun and his wife recently recovered from their positive diagnoses of COVID-19, though it presented very differently in each of their cases. Bringing together his years of research and personal experience with the virus, Belledgrun discusses the role the immune system plays in both protecting the body from and preparing it to fight against t...
Ep. 2: Grand Rounds, with Providence’s Rod Hochman
April 06, 2020 23:43 - 24 minutes - 34.1 MBMike Milken speaks with Rod Hochman, chair-elect designate for the American Hospital Association and president and CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health, the third-largest health-care system in the United States. With 51 hospitals, 1,000 clinics, and 120,000 frontline caregivers across the seven western states, the Providence St. Joseph team in Seattle successfully identified and treated the very first case of COVID-19 in the United States back in January. Hochman shares what they’ve learned fr...
Ep. 1: Big Science, with NIH’s Francis Collins
April 06, 2020 23:39 - 17 minutes - 23.4 MBFrancis Collins Director, National Institutes of Health “We have on our own campus the vaccine research center that is working 24/7 to accelerate the progress with as many different vaccines as possible, but particularly one that is already in phase one trials.” Francis Collins was born for big science. After a successful 13-year effort leading 2,400 scientists in six countries to crack the human DNA instruction book, the one-time leader of the Human Genome Project now is now directing the la...
David Baltimore, Professor of Biology, California Institute of Technology; Nobel Laureate; FasterCures Advisory Board Member
April 06, 2020 19:08 - 13 minutes - 19 MBIn this episode, Mike speaks with David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate, member of the FasterCures board, In this episode, Mike speaks with David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate, member of the FasterCures board, and the current president emeritus; Robert Andrews Millikan professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology. Based on his extensive research into genetics and virology, Baltimore describes the different challenges posed by COVID-19, and how it compares to the progress made on...
Alex Gorsky, Chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson
April 06, 2020 17:02 - 14 minutes - 19.6 MBMike Milken speaks with Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. On March 30, 2020, Johnson & Johnson and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority announced a $1 billion partnership to accelerate testing of a lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19. Gorsky shares about Johnson & Johnson’s efforts to rapidly scale the company’s manufacturing capacity to supply one billion vaccines worldwide for emergency pandemic use in 2021—and to do so on a nonprofit basis so the v...
Arie Belldegrun, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Allogene Therapeutics
April 06, 2020 16:50 - 18 minutes - 24.8 MBMike speaks with Arie Belldegrun, an oncologist and businessman who has built several biopharmaceutical companies over the past three decades. Both Belldegrun and his wife recently recovered from their positive diagnoses of COVID-19, though it presented very differently in each of their cases. Bringing together his years of research and personal experience with the virus, Belledgrun discusses the role the immune system plays in both protecting the body from and preparing it to fight against...
Rod Hochman, President and CEO, Providence St. Joseph Health
April 06, 2020 16:43 - 24 minutes - 34.1 MBMike Milken speaks with Rod Hochman, chair-elect designate for the American Hospital Association and president and CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health, the third-largest health-care system in the United States. With 51 hospitals, 1,000 clinics, and 120,000 frontline caregivers across the seven western states, the Providence St. Joseph team in Seattle successfully identified and treated the very first case of COVID-19 in the United States back in January. Hochman shares what they’ve learned ...
Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health
April 06, 2020 16:39 - 17 minutes - 23.4 MBMike’s first guest on the podcast is Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Collins is a physician-geneticist noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes and pioneering work with the Human Genome Project. As director of the NIH, he oversees the largest biomedical research agency in the world. Although he’s heeding COVID-19-related advice by working from home, Collins is still “trying to light a fire under any kind of opportunity here to speed up the pr...