Forward Thinking

Is the world facing a state of permacrisis?

Leading economists Mike Spence and Mohamed El-Erian talk about the “pretty complicated and disorienting environment” we face.  In this episode of the McKinsey Global In

Has the drive toward human development been thrown into reverse?

The UNDP’s Pedro Conceição talks about today’s global gridlock, uncertainty complex, and a pervasive sense of disempowerment. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for pri

Unpacking the mysteries of productivity

Leading economist Chad Syverson speculates about the ingredients in productivity’s secret sauce. In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward thinking pod

Delivering services to the public—digitally—with Jennifer Pahlka

A former US deputy chief technology officer talks about how digitization can be used to create a government that works for the people. Jennifer Pahlka is the founder of

What’s the future for cities in the postpandemic world?

Co-host Janet Bush talks with Ed Glaeser, the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics and the chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University. His lat

Forward Thinking on Europe’s existential crisis with Marco Buti

Co-host Janet Bush talks with Marco Buti. Buti holds the Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa Chair in European Economic and Monetary Integration at the European University Institute.

Forward Thinking on the tricky business of removing carbon from our world with Nan Ransohoff

Co-host Michael Chui talks with Nan Ransohoff. Ransohoff is the head of climate at Stripe and leads Frontier, an advanced market commitment for carbon removal. She answer

Forward Thinking on how geeks are changing the world with Andrew McAfee

Co-host Michael Chui talks with Andy McAfee. McAfee is a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, co-founder and co-director of MIT’s initiativ

Forward Thinking on why we ignore inflation—from ancient times to the present—at our peril with Stephen King

Co-host Janet Bush talks with Stephen King. King is a senior economic advisor to HSBC, having served as the bank’s group chief economist from 1998 to 2015. His latest boo

Forward Thinking on the existential issues facing the middle classes in every country with Homi Kharas

Co-host Janet Bush talks with Homi Kharas. Kharas is a senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution and also cofounder of World Da

Forward Thinking on funding a clean world with Ann Mettler

Co-host Janet Bush talks with Ann Mettler. Mettler is Vice President, Europe, at Breakthrough Energy, working on cleantech innovation in pursuit of a net-zero-emissions f

Forward Thinking on the recipe for Asia’s success story with Justin Yifu Lin

Co-host Janet Bush talks with Justin Yifu Lin. Lin is dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics, dean of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development,

Forward Thinking on how to live with our longer lives with Andrew J. Scott

Co-host Janet Bush talks with Andrew J. Scott. Scott is professor of economics at London Business School; his work focuses on the economics of longevity. He's co-founder

Forward Thinking on avoiding another false dawn for Africa and finally seizing the continent’s potential with Carlos Lopes

Cohost Janet Bush talks with Carlos Lopes. He is a professor in the Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town. He’s also an affiliate professor a

Forward Thinking on bringing the joy to economics with Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers

Cohost Michael Chui talks with Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, both professors of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan. They cover topics includ

Forward Thinking on the brave new world of generative AI with Ethan Mollick

Co-host Michael Chui talks with business professor Ethan Mollick. He is an associate professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mollick covers top

Forward Thinking on the rollercoaster of central banking with Hans-Helmut Kotz

Co-host Michael Chui talks with economist Hans-Helmut Kotz who is a visiting professor of economics at Harvard University, a senior policy fellow at the Leibniz Institute

Forward Thinking on people on the move and the technological progress and productivity they bring with Dany Bahar

Co-host Janet Bush talks with economist Dany Bahar. He is an associate professor of practice of international and public affairs at Brown University’s Watson Institute an

Forward Thinking on ‘megathreats,’ ‘polycrises,’ and ‘doom loops’ with Nouriel Roubini

Co-host Michael Chui talks with Nouriel Roubini. Roubini is professor emeritus of economics at the Stern School of Business at New York University, and CEO of Roubini Mac

Forward Thinking on working at the interface of the environment and business with Justin Adams

Co-host Michael Chui talks with Justin Adams. Adams is the head of partnerships at Just Climate, a climate-led investment business. he answers questions, including: How