Forward Thinking

Latest Episodes:

How Hamilton stayed alive during the pandemic: An interview with producer Jeffrey Seller Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Anna Bernasek speaks with Jeffrey Seller, producer of Broadway hits Hamilton, In the Heights, Rent, and more about the tumultuous year-plus Broadway and live performances have endured. Ahead of Broadway reopening in September 2021 and live performances coming back across the United States and other countries, the man is non-stop. Jeffrey took us inside the room where it happened, sharing his experiences, including:
• Shutting down, pivoting, then staging a production in Australia during the pandemic
• How digital streaming services like Disney+ and Spotify affected demand for performance tickets
• Why he created an affordable ticket lottery to increase access to the magic of live, in-person performances
• Why he’s still an optimist, but one who’s focused on resilience

This conversation was recorded in May 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/jeffreyseller

Follow @McKinsey_MGI on Twitter and the McKinsey Global Institute on LinkedIn for more.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Forward Thinking on economic recovery and gender equality with Laura Tyson Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, host Michael Chui speaks with Laura Tyson, Distinguished Professor of the Graduate School at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Tyson shares her journey in economics, from discovering Econ 1 in college to chairing the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. She also answers questions like:
• Are we in a “golden age” for women in economics?
• What impact has the pandemic had on gender equality?
• What can other countries learn from Germany’s apprenticeship and skills programs in preparing for the future of work?
• Why doesn’t she expect a slow recovery after the pandemic, as we experienced after the global financial crisis?
• Why aren’t predictions about the economy more accurate, like predicting the weather?

This conversation was recorded in June 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/lauratyson

Follow @McKinsey_MGI on Twitter and the McKinsey Global Institute on LinkedIn for more.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Forward Thinking on technology and political economy with Daron Acemoglu Jul 14, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, hosts Michael Chui and Anna Bernasek speak with Daron Acemoglu. Daron is a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a coauthor (with James A. Robinson) of Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty, and the author of many influential academic papers. His research covers a range of topics, including political economy, economic development, economic growth, technological change, inequality, labor economics, and economics of networks.

The conversation focuses in on how we make growth happen in a world of technological change that is largely disrupting labor markets. As Daron puts it, “I believe that the political economy of growth ... and technology, automation, AI—those [things] are intimately connected.” The influential economist connects the dots between artificial intelligence, productivity, wages, and inequality, and how to counterbalance the impacts of automation.

This conversation was recorded in April 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/daron

Follow @McKinsey_MGI on Twitter and the McKinsey Global Institute on LinkedIn for more.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Forward Thinking on China and artificial intelligence with Jeffrey Ding Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Forward Thinking, host Michael Chui speaks with Jeffrey Ding, researcher and founder of the ChinAI newsletter, about information asymmetry in artificial intelligence between China and the West. They cover why data may not be like oil, the Chinese industry adage on products, platforms, and standards, “unsexy AI” and more.

There’s a lot of talk right now about artificial intelligence, or AI, and what it means for global competition. Today’s conversation features somebody you probably don’t know yet but probably should. He’s famous in certain corners of the internet but his work, it turns out, is relevant everywhere. MGI research suggests that while there’s AI happening all around the world, there are two places where the most AI development is taking place, and it’s the US and China.

What’s interesting about that is that while a lot of the Chinese AI developers are reading and even coauthoring English-language papers, very few Western AI practitioners are able to keep up with the flow of information in the Chinese language, even when a lot of it is published openly. It’s almost like a one-way mirror—and this asymmetry might seem strange in a field where a lot of the work is openly available on the internet. But our guest, Jeffrey Ding, has been helping to make sure more AI information flows back from China to the West.

This episode’s guest, Jeffrey Ding, is a PhD Candidate in international relations at the University of Oxford and a pre-doctoral fellow at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, sponsored by Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. He is also a research affiliate with the Centre for the Governance of AI at the University of Oxford.

This conversation was recorded in March 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/forwardthinking

Follow @McKinsey_MGI on Twitter and the McKinsey Global Institute on LinkedIn for more.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Forward Thinking on artificial intelligence with Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

We’ve been hearing for a long time that robots are coming for our jobs. Now, with widespread global unemployment due to COVID-19, that sounds even more ominous. But what if robots and AI could, in fact, help with recovery? Well, it’s possible. For instance, in some rural parts of the US, artificial intelligence and machine learning are making these regions more economically viable.

In this episode of Forward Thinking, we’ll hear an interview with one of the leading technology strategists in the world: Kevin Scott. Kevin is the chief technology officer and vice president of artificial intelligence and research at Microsoft. He also has a new book out called Reprogramming the American Dream.

The interview is conducted by MGI’s own James Manyika, who is a co-chairman and director of the McKinsey Global Institute, and a senior partner at McKinsey & Company. He’s also a deep expert in his own right when it comes to artificial intelligence and machine learning. That’s why James sat down with Kevin to discuss how AI might be the key to democratizing technology to work better for all of us.

This conversation was recorded in May 2020.

To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/forwardthinking

Follow @McKinsey_MGI on Twitter and the McKinsey Global Institute on LinkedIn for more.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Forward Thinking on measuring GDP and productivity with Diane Coyle May 26, 2021

Show notes

“Digital is changing the way that we create value in society. Where in value chains does that happen? Who gets the benefits? And is there a gap between what we measure in dollars and the economic welfare, the benefits, that people can get from these digital services? There's a wedge opening up between the categories and the dollar values that we can assign to activities and the benefits that people are getting and who is getting those benefits, as well.”

Diane Coyle is known for her critique of how economic activity has been measured and valued. She’s written about how transactions are counted in dollars, but that accounting really leaves out important things like physical resources, intellectual resources, and valuable activity that isn't traded for money.

In this episode, we speak to hear to understand more about why this matters, how to rectify this measurement, and whether she’s optimistic about the future after COVID-19.

This conversation was recorded in February 2021.

To read a transcript of this episode, visit: mck.co/forwardthinking

Follow @McKinsey_MGI on Twitter and the McKinsey Global Institute on LinkedIn for more.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Forward Thinking on the Bio Revolution with Jason Kelly and Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath May 12, 2021

Show notes

You’ve heard about the Industrial Revolution and the digital revolution. But now, we’re heading into a Bio Revolution. And this is going to transform the economy and society in many ways—even beyond health and agriculture. And we need to understand both the potential for good and how to avoid the pitfalls.

In this episode, we start with a picture of the science that’s happening, then explore where might these advances lead. Our guests are two people doing truly amazing work literally on the very frontiers of where these advances are taking place. Jason Kelly is the founder of Ginkgo Bioworks, a biotech company that describes itself as “the organism company.” And Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath is the president and CEO of the Biological Innovation Organization (BIO).

Interview date: November 2020

To read more about the Bio Revolution, visit: mck.co/biorev To read a transcript of this episode, visit: mck.co/forwardthinking

Follow @McKinsey_MGI on Twitter and the McKinsey Global Institute on LinkedIn for more.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

A happy warrior: Mellody Hobson on mentorship, diversity, and feedback May 12, 2021

Show notes

As part of Black History Month, MGI co-chair James Manyika had an open, candid conversation with Mellody Hobson and an audience of McKinsey colleagues in the San Francisco office. “You can almost pick any arena you want in American business, society, and community, and I think you’ll probably find Mellody involved, playing some important pioneering role there.” From her childhood on the South Side of Chicago, to Princeton, to leading Ariel Investments and now chairing the board of Starbucks, Mellody Hobson is an inspirational business leader and investor. She shares her journey, a peek into her how she sees her work, and gives advice on mentorship, sponsorship, and difficult feedback. On that note, she says: “Accept it, do not push back, do not fight. If this feedback is a gift, take it for what it is.”

This conversation was recorded on February 21, 2020.

To read a transcript of this episode, visit: mck.co/mellodyhobson

Follow @McKinsey_MGI on Twitter and the McKinsey Global Institute on LinkedIn for more.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Programming life: An interview with Jennifer Doudna May 12, 2021

Show notes

The Bio Revolution has the potential to transform our lives, and genome editing—the ability to change the DNA sequence in a targeted way using CRISPR-Cas9, is one of the key innovations that has sparked imaginations while also raising its fair share of controversy. What is the origin of this technique? How do we weigh the enormous benefits against the potential risks? And what is its role in solving the global coronavirus pandemic? As part of the McKinsey Global Institute’s research on the Bio Revolution, partner Michael Chui spoke with Jennifer Doudna, PhD, one of the scientists who discovered the genome-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9 and leading proponent of its responsible use. Jennifer is a professor of molecular and cell biology and chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. The Doudna lab pursues a mechanistic understanding of fundamental biological processes involving RNA molecules.

To read a transcript of this episode, visit: mck.co/3dEJWhJ

To read more about the Bio Revolution, visit: mck.co/biorev

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Forward Thinking on Unemployment with Sir Christopher Pissarides May 12, 2021

Show notes

Millions of people have lost their jobs over the past year, and the jobs that are going to be available coming out of the pandemic might be really different from those that were available even a few years ago. Just think about some of the jobs that employed a lot of people before: in-person services like personal care, dining, travel, and leisure. All those things have been decimated by the impact of COVID. How many of these are coming back? How do we help unemployed workers find new jobs and new career paths? What support do they need along the way? Would we or could we even get to no unemployment? What really works when it comes to policies to address these problems? How do we even know they’re working?

We ask these questions (and more) to Sir Chris Pissarides, He’s a Nobel prize-winning economist, the professor of economics at London School of Economics, and professor of European studies at the University of Cyprus. Chris specializes in labor markets, macroeconomic policy, economic growth, and structural change.

This conversation was recorded in February 2021.

To read a transcript of this episode, visit: mck.co/forwardthinking

Follow @McKinsey_MGI on Twitter and the McKinsey Global Institute on LinkedIn for more.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information