Wavemaker Conversations

As AI reshapes power, two leading cybersecurity minds join me to map the terrain of national security, business and daily life. Laura Galante is the former Director of the U.S. government’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center. Tal Feldman is an AI and National Security scholar with a keen focus on China. Galante and Feldman are two of the clearest communicators you will hear on this subject. This Wavemaker Conversation was recorded Live at the Dreamland Theatre in Nantucket on August 23rd, and sponsored by White Elephant Resorts and the Inquirer and Mirror newspaper.

Former NFL offensive lineman John Urschel fell in love with math before he fell in love with football. He pursued both fields with equal intensity. How he has succeeded in both (his mother played an important role) is an inspiring story - and as good a reason as any to bring back this 2015 conversation from the Wavemaker archives. But I’m revisiting it now because of a major new study out this week that concluded at least one of every four former NFL players has been afflicted with the degenerative brain disease CTE, which is caused by the cumulative force of repeated hits to the head. The risk of suffering brain damage from playing professional football was what led me to contact Urschel in the first place - and to learn why a person who aspired to be a leader in the field of math, would take such a risk.

Sebastian Junger and I discuss his search for purpose as a young man; his 1997 best-seller, The Perfect Storm, that put him on the map; his high risk years as a war reporter; the aneurism that nearly killed him; becoming a father late in life; and what he calls the “escape from the tyranny of self-interest.” A riveting and thought-provoking introduction to a journalist you’ll be seeing more of in his new role as a Contributor to 60 Minutes. Our conversation was recorded live at the 2023 Nantucket Book Festival (which just celebrated its 15th year!)

Find part 1 of this conversation HERE Spencer Glendon's work on climate change is driven by this question: How can we, together, "increase our chances that the future is good?" Glendon is answering that question through his nonprofit organization Probable Futures, which has created a suite of tools, including vivid interactive maps, that help us visualize climate change's evolving impacts - locally, regionally, and globally. Much of this episode requires watching the images as well as listening, so I hope you can watch the video of our conversation on Spotify, YouTube, or my website at wavemaker.me And please make sure to listen to the last 15 minutes in which Glendon opens up about the extreme health challenges he has faced since he was a high school student, and how he successfully increased the chances that his own future would be good.

Spencer Glendon, one of the most brilliant guys I've ever heard speak, is the creator of Probable Futures, an ambitious project focused on what he calls climate literacy. I've brought back this conversation of ours from 2022 in light of the extreme wildfires and heat waves in Europe and the broader, continual flow of evidence that our climate has been dangerously destabilized. There are plenty of great climate experts. Why spend time listening to Spencer Glendon? For me, the answer begins with his riveting personal and professional journey in the decades before he started exploring climate change. That's what we focus on in this first of our two-part conversation. We'll take the deep dive into climate change in Part Two next week.