Talks at Google

Ep287 - Nomi Prins | Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World

Before becoming a renowned journalist and public speaker, Nomi Prins reached the upper echelons of the financial world where she worked as a managing director at Goldman Sachs, ran the international analytics group at Bear Stearns, was a strategist at Lehman Brothers, and an analyst at the Chase Manhattan Bank. During her time on Wall Street, she grew increasingly aware of unethical practices that readily permeated the banking industry. Eventually, she decided to become an investigative jou...

Ep286 - Tiago Forte | Building a Second Brain

Tiago Forte visits Google to discuss his latest book "Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential.” This revolutionary approach is designed to help us enhance productivity, create flow, and vastly increase our ability to capture, remember, and benefit from the unprecedented amount of information all around us. For the first time in history, we have instantaneous access to the world’s knowledge. There has never been a better ti...

Ep285 - Cassie Holmes | How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most

Professor Cassie Holmes visits Google to discuss her book "Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most." Cassie argues that our most precious resource isn’t money. It’s time. We are allotted just twenty-four hours a day, and we live in a culture that keeps us feeling “time poor” —like we just never have enough. Since we can’t add more hours to the day, how can we experience our lives as being richer? Is it possible to spend our days so they aren’t...

Ep284 - Sue Ann Pien, Rick Glassman and Albert Rutecki | As We See It

Actors Sue Ann Pien, Rick Glassman and Albert Rutecki visit Google to discuss the Amazon Original series As We See It. The show follows three roommates on the autism spectrum, as they strive to get and keep jobs, make friends, fall in love, and navigate the strange world of adulthood in a world that eludes them. Through her journey of understanding what it means to be on the autism spectrum, Sue Ann Pien has welcomed a greater acceptance of what makes her unique, and the freedom to expre...

Ep283 - John Searle | Consciousness in Artificial Intelligence

Philosophy professor John Searle visits Google to discuss the philosophy of mind and the potential for consciousness in artificial intelligence. John is widely noted for his contributions to the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and social philosophy. Among his notable concepts is the "Chinese room" argument, which challenges the supposed language comprehension ability of artificial intelligence. Searle conceived of the “Chinese room” thought experiment in 1980. Imagine a na...

Ep282 - Clara Rowe | The Power of Ecological Restoration

Clara Rowe visits Google to discuss conservation non-profit Restor, sustainability, and the importance of open data platforms to accelerate the global restoration movement. Ecosystem restoration and conservation are essential for protecting Earth’s biodiversity and achieving climate goals with the potential to reduce 30% of accumulated global carbon emissions. Supported by a $1.2M grant from Google.org, Restor is accelerating the global restoration movement by connecting people to scient...

Ep281 - Gernot Wagner | Climate Shock

Economist Gernot Wagner visits Google to discuss his book "Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet". In the book, Wagner explores the likely repercussions of a hotter planet, drawing on and expanding from works previously unavailable to general audiences. He argues that the longer we wait to act, the more likely an extreme event will happen. Zeroing in on the unknown extreme risks that may yet dwarf all else, the book looks at how economic forces that make sensible cl...

Ep280 - Dr. Anton Treuer | Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask

Dr. Anton Treuer visits Google to discuss his book "Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask." What have you always wanted to know about Indians? Do you think you should already know the answers—or suspect that your questions may be offensive? Is the term “Indians” even appropriate to use in the 21st century? In matter-of-fact responses to over 120 questions, both thoughtful and outrageous, modern and historical, Ojibwe scholar and cultural preservationist Anton T...

Ep279 - Nick Offerman | Good Clean Fun

Actor Nick Offerman visits Google to discuss his book “Good Clean Fun: MIsadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop.” Nestled among the glitz and glitter of Hollywood is a testament to American elbow grease and a hard day’s work: Offerman Woodshop. Captained by woodworker, actor, comedian, and writer Nick Offerman, the shop produces not only fine handcrafted furniture, but also fun stuff like kazoos, baseball bats, ukuleles, mustache combs, and even cedar-strip canoes.      Now Nick and...

Ep278 - Roham Gharegozlou | The Past, Present, and Future of Crypto

Roham Gharegozlou visits Google to discuss his company Dapper Labs, the detailed history of cryptocurrency, and where he sees it going in the near future. Roham Gharegozlou is the co-founder and CEO of Dapper Labs and a leader in blockchain and Web3 technology. He is often cited as the pioneer of NFTs, with CryptoKitties being the first viral NFT project that broke Ethereum in 2017. From those learnings, Roham launched Dapper Labs from Axiom Zen in 2018, aiming to drive mainstream adopti...

Ep277 - Bea Johnson | Zero Waste Home

Since 2008, Bea Johnson and her family have been dedicated to living a zero waste lifestyle, generating a mere quart-size jar of waste per year. Through her blog and her book ""Zero Waste Home"", Bea has launched a global movement and continues to inspire a growing community to live simply and take a stance against needless waste with the application of the 5R's: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot.  This book shares essential how-to advice, secrets, and insights based on Bea’s experie...

Ep276 - Harry Parker | Hybrid Humans

Author Harry Parker visits Google to discuss his book "Hybrid Humans: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Man and Machine". This book is a gripping, eye-opening firsthand account of how technology is altering our understanding of what it means to be human. Harry Parker’s life changed overnight when he lost his legs to a bomb in Afghanistan. He now wears prosthetic legs from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed, reliant on them to move about the world. The tech he relies on is...

Ep275 - Nicholas Meyer | Star Trek and The Science of Optimism

What is it about Star Trek that has proved so durable - not to say indestructible? Over half a century after its unpromising beginnings, how and why has Star Trek expanded and captured the imaginations and hearts of so many adherents, many of whom have gone onto distinguished careers in space exploration, working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Nasa, SpaceX, and Blue Origin? In 1981, Nicholas Meyer was something less than a true believer when he was asked to direct the troubled second...

Ep274 - Mark Mattson | The Intermittent Fasting Revolution

Most of us eat three meals a day, plus a smattering of snacks, because we think that’s the normal, healthy way to eat. Mark Mattson’s book, “The Intermittent Fasting Revolution,” argues why that’s not the case. The human body and brain evolved to function well in environments where food could be obtained only intermittently. When we look at the eating patterns of our distant ancestors, we can see that periods of fasting are normal—and eating three meals a day is not. In “The Intermittent Fa...

Ep273 - Annie Jacobsen | An Uncensored History of DARPA

Journalist Annie Jacobsen visits Google to discuss her book "The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency". Ms. Jacobsen has written the first history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science research & development agency. She draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agenc...

Ep272 - Fatima Al-Banawi | Preserving the Storytelling Heritage of Saudi Arabia

Fatima Al-Banawi visits Google to discuss her career and her project entitled The Other Story, a collection of real life stories and personal narratives from locals and visitors to her hometown of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. These collections enter the social arena through storytelling to highlight our shared humanity and to record the eclectic voices of a specific place and time in history. Fatima Al-Banawi is an internationally acclaimed actress, filmmaker, and writer with a masters degree f...

Ep271 - Neil deGrasse Tyson | The Pluto Files

In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted Pluto out of planethood. Far from the sun, tiny, and eccentric in orbit, it's a wonder Pluto has any fans. Yet during the mounting debate over Pluto's status, Americans rallied behind this extraterrestrial underdog. The year of Pluto's discovery, Disney created the iconic cartoon puppy by the same name, and, as one NASA scientist put it, Pluto was "discovered by an American for America." Pluto is entrenched in our cultural, patrioti...

Ep270 - Myron Rolle | The 2% Way

Dr. Myron Rolle visits Google to discuss his book "The 2% Way: How a Philosophy of Small Improvements Took Me to Oxford, the NFL, and Neurosurgery". This book tells the story of his incredible journey, revealing how a strong work ethic, deep faith, and the family values instilled by his Bahamian immigrant parents set the stage for the transformative life philosophy that enabled him to overcome adversity, defy expectations, and create a life of meaning and purpose. Not long ago, Myron L. ...

Ep269 - Carol Dweck | The Growth Mindset

After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In her book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset—those who believ...

Ep268 - Alan Murray | Tomorrow's Capitalist: My Search for the Soul of Business

Alan Murray visits Google to discuss his book "Tomorrow's Capitalist: My Search for the Soul of Business", a frontline report on the business revolution that is transforming much of the corporate world. "Tomorrow’s Capitalist" reveals how corporate CEOs—the ultimate pragmatists—realized how critical it is that they confront the fundamental issues of our time: climate, diversity and inclusion, inequality, and workforce opportunity, in response to their employees and customers who are dema...

Ep267 - Daniel Kahneman | Thinking, Fast and Slow

Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman visits Google to discuss his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow." In this Talk, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think - System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impress...

Ep266 - Annie Murphy Paul | The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain

Annie Murphy Paul visits Google to discuss her book "The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain". The book discusses how we can tap the intelligence that exists beyond our brains—in our bodies, our surroundings, and our relationships. “Use your head” - that’s what we tell ourselves when facing a tricky problem or a difficult project. But a growing body of research indicates that we’ve got it exactly backwards. What we need to do, says Annie Murphy Paul, is think outside t...

Ep265 - Mark Pollock | Unbroken

When Mark Pollock lost his sight at the age of twenty-two, he thought his life was over. The story of how he overcame the odds to rebuild his life and exceed his own wildest expectations has inspired people the world over. In his story, you will find what can’t be taught in school: the true education that is garnered from what Mark calls 'the university of life'. Unbroken by blindness, Mark became an adventure athlete competing in ultra-endurance races across deserts, mountains, and the ...

Ep264 - Matt Damon & Gary White | The Worth of Water

Matt Damon & Gary White visit Google to discuss their recent book "The Worth of Water: Our Story of Chasing Solutions to the World's Greatest Challenge”. This is the incredible true story of two unlikely allies on a mission to end the global water crisis.. With humor and humility, Matt & Gary illuminate the challenges of launching a brand-new model with extremely high stakes: better health and greater prosperity for people all over the world. "The Worth of Water" invites us to become a part...

Ep263 - Richard Munson | Tesla, Inventor of the Modern

Nikola Tesla invented the radio, robots, and the remote control. His electric induction motors run our appliances and factories, and yet he has been often overlooked by history. In "Tesla: Inventor of the Modern", Richard Munson presents a comprehensive portrait of this farsighted and underappreciated mastermind. When Tesla’s first breakthrough―alternating current, the basis of our electric grid―pitted him against Thomas Edison’s direct-current empire, Tesla’s superior technology prevail...

Ep262 - Tala Bashmi | MENA's Top Female Chef

Chef Tala Bashmi visits Google to discuss her successful culinary career and how she is bringing cuisine from the Gulf region to the forefront of the global food industry. Tala Bashmi started her culinary career by joining The Gulf Hotel Bahrain as a trainee and eventually working her way up the ranks. She studied at the Culinary Arts Academy in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she received her Masters of International Business in Culinary Management. Returning to the Middle East, she joined ...

Ep261 - Richard Wolff | Democracy at Work: Curing Capitalism

Professor Richard D. Wolff visits Google to discuss the economic dimensions of our modern lives, our jobs, our incomes, and our debts in his unique mixture of deep insight and dry humor. He presents insights into current events and draws connections to the past to highlight the machinations of our global economy. He tries to help us to understand political and corporate policy, the organization of labor, the distribution of goods and services, and challenges us to question some of the deepe...

Ep260 - Nadine Bejou | Fashion & Luxury Modest Wear

North African fashion designer Nadine Bejou visits Google to discuss her journey as an Arab woman entrepreneur navigating the fashion industry, and how patience, persistence, and a willingness to self-teach has helped her to find her authentic voice. Nadine is a North African fashion designer and entrepreneur based in Seattle, who has built her businesses from the ground up despite the challenges she has faced being a first generation Libyan-American. She runs several successful fashion ...

Ep259 - Kyle Johnson | Inception and Philosophy

Author Kyle Johnson visits Google to discuss his book "Inception and Philosophy" which draws insight from important philosophical minds from Plato to Aristotle, Decartes to Hume, to shed new light on the movie's captivating themes, including the one that everyone talks about: did the top ever fall down (and does it even matter)? In the world of Christopher Nolan's four-time Academy Award-winning movie Inception, people can share one another's dreams and alter their beliefs and thoughts. ...

Ep258 - Nicole Yunger Halpern | Quantum Steampunk: The Physics of Yesterday's Tomorrow

Theoretical physicist Dr. Nicole Yunger Halpern visits Google to discuss her book "Quantum Steampunk: The Physics of Yesterday's Tomorrow." Victorian era steam engines and particle physics may seem worlds apart, yet a new branch of science, quantum thermodynamics, re-envisions the scientific underpinnings of the Industrial Revolution through the lens of today's quantum information revolution. Classical thermodynamics, understood as the study of engines, energy, and efficiency, needs reim...

Ep257 - Peter Kohler & Stefan Leutenegger | The Plastic Tide

Peter Kohler, founder of The Plastic Tide project, and Dr. Stefan Leutenegger, Lecturer in Robotics at the Imperial College London, visit Google to discuss how the ocean is under siege from an ever-increasing tide of waste, and how technology like machine learning and drones can help us fix the issue. Plastics are threatening not only a vital economic resource worth an estimated $5 trillion a year, but also humanity’s very own life support. Oceanic plastic waste is growing by 8 million m...

Ep256 - Dipo Faloyin | Africa Is Not A Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa

In celebration of Africa Week, Dipo Faloyin discusses his book "Africa Is Not A Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa." This portrait of modern Africa pushes back against harmful stereotypes to tell a much more comprehensive story. In this funny and insightful book, Dipo offers a much-needed corrective to the simplistic stereotype of Africa as an arid landscape of famines and safaris, plagued by poverty and strife. He examines each country's colonial heritage, and explores a wid...

Ep255 - Richard Wolfson | Nuclear Energy: One Environmentalist’s Perspective

Physics professor Richard Wolfson discusses his book “Nuclear Choices for the 21st Century,” which explains, clearly and accessibly, the basics of nuclear technology and describes the controversies surrounding its use. The book begins with scientific issues, covering the nature of the atom and its nucleus, nuclear radiation, and nuclear energy. It discusses nuclear power, the operation of nuclear power plants, nuclear accidents, nuclear waste, alternatives to nuclear energy, and consider...

Ep254 - Suzanne Simard | Finding the Mother Tree

Professor Suzanne Simard visits Google to discuss her book "Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest." Simard writes about how trees, living side by side for hundreds of years, have evolved, perceive one another, learn and adapt their behaviors, recognize neighbors, and remember the past. She also illustrates how they have agency about the future, elicit warnings and mount defenses, compete and cooperate with one another with sophistication, and possess other characteri...

Ep253 - Laura Heck | The Science of Great Relationships

Licensed marriage and family therapist Laura Heck visits Google to give a Talk on Dr. John Gottman’s "Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work." This talk outlines the Seven Principles that every couple can adopt in order to have a harmonious and long lasting relationship. "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work" has revolutionized the way we understand, repair, and strengthen marriages. This unprecedented study of many couples over a period of years has allowed for the observati...

Ep252 - Suzie Sheehy | The Matter of Everything: Twelve Experiments that Changed Our World

Accelerator physicist Dr. Suzie Sheehy visits Google to discuss her book "The Matter of Everything: Twelve Experiments that Changed Our World." Her book tells a hopeful story of human ingenuity, creativity and unending curiosity, and introduces us to the people who, through a combination of genius, persistence and luck, staged ground-breaking experiments that shaped the world as we know it. From the physicists who soared in hot air balloons on the trail of new particles, to the serendipi...

Ep251 - Abigail Hing Wen & Dani Melia | Crafting Asian American Stories

Talks at Google welcomes Dani Melia, producer of the hit film "The Farewell," and Abigail Hing Wen, author of the bestselling novel "Loveboat, Taipei." Together they share their journeys of overcoming barriers to bring authentic, diverse stories to the traditional media & publishing industries. Dani Melia currently runs film operations for the New York-based indie powerhouse Big Beach. Most recently, Dani produced and developed Lulu Wang’s Sundance hit "The Farewell" starring Awkwafina. ...

Ep250 - The Trevor Project: Leveraging AI to Help LGBTQ Youth in Crisis

John Callery & Shira Kogan visit Google to discuss The Trevor Project, and how they leverage artificial intelligence to help LGBTQ youth in crisis. The Trevor Project is the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young people. The Trevor Project offers a suite of 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat, as well as the world’s...

Ep249 - Dan Savage & Esther Perel | Love, Marriage, & Monogamy

Dan Savage is widely known for writing "Savage Love," a nationally syndicated sex advice column that tackles tough questions about modern sexuality, LGBTQ+ issues, infidelity and more. Esther Perel is perhaps best known for her bestselling book "Mating in Captivity" as well as her hit podcast, "Where Should We Begin?" which features conversations with real couples going thru their tribulations with marriage counseling. Together they speak with Google in what was the fifth of a series of Tal...

Ep248 - Elliot Page | Choosing Self-Love

Elliot Page is an Academy Award-nominated actor known for both tentpole and art house films. His love for storytelling and passion for social justice has now taken him behind the camera as a producer and documentary filmmaker whose work answers the call to action of a generation. A tireless champion of the under-represented, Elliot uses his global platform to shed light on important social and LGBTQ+ issues, partnering with the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice to raise money for grass...

Ep247 - Reverends Floyd Thompkins, Dr. Janie Spahr, and Annanda Barclay | LGBTQ & Spirituality

Faculty from the Center for Innovation in Ministry at the San Francisco Theological Seminary visit Google to discuss the subject of spirituality and the LGBTQ community. Rev. Floyd Thompkins is the Director of the Center for Innovation in Ministry at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Floyd has also served as a dean and chaplain at two world-class institutions, Stanford and Princeton. Rev. Dr. Janie Spahr is a lesbian, feminist, Presbyterian minister committed to social justice issu...

Ep246 - Dr. Lutza Ireland | Neurodiversity: How to Love, Live and Work Better

Dr. Lutza Ireland joins Google during Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month to discuss a neurosmart edition on how to love, live and work better. Have you ever wondered if someone really cares about you? Ever been told that you are ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’; maybe both? Maybe you tried as hard as you could, yet the feedback was ‘if only you tried harder’? Diversity in how people think, feel, and communicate means we often misunderstand each other, despite our best intentions. In this Talk,...

Ep245 - David Baddiel | A Discussion On His Book "Jews Don't Count"

David Baddiel visits Google to discuss his book "Jews Don’t Count", which uses a unique combination of reasoning, polemic, personal experience, and humour to discuss how antisemitism does not fit into traditional narratives and perceptions of racism. David’s book is aimed at people who consider themselves to be “fighting the good fight” against homophobia, ableism, transphobia and, particularly, racism. The comedian and writer follows the antisemitism he finds in his Twitter feed to the ...

Ep244 - Joy Kogawa | A Lookback at Japanese Internment & a Storied Writing Career

Acclaimed author Joy Kogawa visits Google to discuss her lifelong career as a writer, her experience as a child growing up in a Japanese internment camp during WW2, and her thoughts about how we can prevent similar human rights abuses in the future. Joy Kogawa is an author of novels, children's books, a memoir, and books of poetry. She is best known for her 1981 classic novel "Obasan", based on her family’s forced relocation from Vancouver during the Second World War when she was six years...

Talks at Google - Joy Kogawa

Ep243 - Heidi Grant Halvorson | No One Understands You and What To Do About It

Heidi Grant Halvorson, social psychologist and bestselling author, explains why we’re often misunderstood and how we can fix it. Most of us assume that other people see us as we see ourselves, and that they see us as we truly are. But neither is true. Our everyday interactions are colored by subtle biases that distort how others see us—and also shape our perceptions of them. But we can learn to clarify the message we’re sending once we understand the three lenses that shape perception...

Ep242 - Dr. Sara Mednick | The Power of the Downstate

Dr. Sara Mednick visits Google to discuss her book "The Power of the Downstate: Recharge Your Life Using Your Body's Own Restorative Systems." If you’re like most people, the relentless daily grind of go-go-go, do-do-do, can run down your energy and deplete your resources. While most of us find our lives full of “Upstate” moments that rev up our stress engines, it doesn’t have to be this way. World-renowned sleep researcher Dr. Mednick shows us how we can access the most replenishing and...

Ep241 - Aswath Damodaran | Valuation in Four Lessons

Known as the "Dean of Valuation," Aswath Damodaran is best known as the author of several widely used academic and practitioner texts on Valuation, Corporate Finance and Investment Management; he is widely quoted on the subject of valuation, with "a great reputation as a teacher and authority". His advice is a must for those wishing to gain a better understanding of investment valuation and its methods. With it, you can take the insights and advice of a recognized authority on the valuation...

Ep240 - Matthew McConaughey & Garth Jennings | Sing 2

Matthew McConaughey & Garth Jennings visit Google to discuss "Sing 2", the sequel to the 2016 award-winning movie "Sing". In "Sing 2", McConaughey plays a can-do koala named Buster Moon, whose all-star cast of animal performers are preparing to launch a dazzling stage extravaganza in the glittering entertainment capital of the world. There's just one hitch -- he has to find and persuade the world's most reclusive rock star to join them. What begins as Buster's dream of big-time success s...

Ep239 - Daniel Amen | The Brain's Warrior Way

Dr. Daniel G. Amen is a double board-certified psychiatrist, professor, TV producer, and 10-time New York Times bestselling author. He is one of the world's foremost experts on using brain imaging tools to help optimize and treat patients. He is founder and medical director of Amen Clinics, which has the world’s largest database of functional brain scans relating to behavior. This week, Dr. Amen visits Google to discuss his latest book, "The Brain’s Warrior Way: Ignite Your Energy and Fo...