Leaders Who Shaped the Future

Why does leadership matter, and how do small decisions ripple across the future? Dr. Roy begins with the hidden dangers of implicit bias, from medicine to global politics, before diving into the story of Theodore Roosevelt. From cowboy adventurer to America’s youngest president, Roosevelt’s choices reshaped U.S. foreign policy, transformed the presidency, and continue to influence what leadership looks like today.

Takeaways:

• How implicit bias influences medical treatment, politics, and global perceptions, often without people realizing it.
• Why Roosevelt’s rise from “Rough Rider” to president was more accidental than planned, and how he built power without party backing.
• The role of “shuttle diplomacy” in shaping U.S. foreign policy and Roosevelt’s Nobel Peace Prize.
• Roosevelt’s domestic reforms, from breaking up Standard Oil to reshaping football safety rules.
• The darker side of his presidency, including the war in the Philippines and his failure to support child labor reform.
• Why Roosevelt’s approach to foreign policy still echoes in the American presidency today.

Resources & References:

• Harvard implicit bias study on race and gender in emergency rooms
• Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT)
• Case study: 2002 Winter Olympics corruption in Salt Lake City
• The Treaty of Portsmouth (1905) and “shuttle diplomacy”

Beyond the podcast: 

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This lecture was originally recorded at the Museum of the Future for the series Lessons from the Past (2025).