Talks at Google

This week, Jordan Clarkson visits Google to discuss his NBA career & how his Filipino-American heritage has shaped his journey along the way. After foregoing his senior year in college to enter the 2014 NBA draft, Jordan Clarkson was selected by the Washington Wizards with the No. 46 overall pick and was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his first year, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, a rarity for a second round pick. In 2018 Clarkson was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and then to the Utah Jazz in 2019. He averaged a career-high 16.8 points per game for the Cavs during the 2018-19 season, and he scored a career-best 42 points on February 13, 2019 against the Brooklyn Nets. He ended the 2020-21 season as the first Utah player to win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, averaging a career-high 18.4 points per game and led the NBA with 203 three-pointers off the bench. Jordan Clarkson is Filipino-American and has dual citizenship with the Philippines and the United States. He competed with the Philippines national team at the 2018 Asian Games, where he averaged 26 points per game and led the Philippines to a fifth-place finish, its best in 16 years. Moderated by Tiara Batle. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.  

Born in 1975 in the Himalayan border regions between Tibet and Nepal, Mingyur Rinpoche is among the generation of Tibetan lamas trained outside of Tibet, and he's also a gifted meditator. His brain activity has been measured during meditation, earning him the nickname of "happiest man on earth." He fuses scientific and spiritual considerations, explaining meditation as a physical as well as a spiritual process. Mingyur gknows from experience that meditation can change the brain. He experienced panic attacks as a child that he was able to overcome through intensive meditation. If diligently practiced, meditation can affect the "neuronal gossip"—his imaginative rendering of brain cell communication—that keeps us stuck in unhappy behaviors. The meditation master offers a wide variety of techniques, counseling ease in practice to avoid boredom or aversion. Less is more; practice shorter periods more often, he says. His approach will be especially welcome for anyone frustrated by meditation or convinced they're "not doing it right." Originally published in August of 2010. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.  

Cary Elwes stoped by YouTube Headquarters for a discussion about his book, "As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride."  This first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film is filled with never-before-told stories, exclusive photographs, and interviews with costars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldman, producer Norman Lear, and director Rob Reiner. Cary Elwes was inspired to share his memories and give fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film while participating in the twenty-fifth anniversary cast reunion. In addition to never-before seen photos and interviews with his fellow cast-mates, there are plenty of set secrets, backstage stories, and answers to lingering questions about off-screen romances that have intrigued fans for years. Originally published in January of 2015. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.  

In celebration of #IamRemarkable Week, Ibtihaj Muhammad discusses her journey, values and career as an award winning fencing athlete and Olympian. Ibtihaj Muhammad is an entrepreneur, activist, speaker and Olympic medalist in fencing. A 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, 5-time Senior World medalist and World Champion, in 2016, Ibtihaj became the first American woman to compete in the Olympics in hijab. In 2017, Mattel announced their first hijabi Barbie, modeled in Ibtihaj’s likeness, as part of Barbie’s “Shero” line of dolls. Additionally, she has released three books, among them a debut memoir, Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream and a children’s picture book, The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab & Family, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. Ibtihaj is a sports ambassador with the U.S. Department of State’s Empowering Women and Girls through Sport Initiative, and works closely with organizations like Athletes for Impact and the Special Olympics. Named to Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list in 2016, Ibtihaj is an important figure in a larger global discussion on equality and the importance of sport. Moderated by Matt Brittin Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.  

When Temple Grandin was born in 1947, autism had only just been named. Today it is more prevalent than ever, with one in 88 children diagnosed on the spectrum. Our thinking about it has undergone a transformation in her lifetime: Autism studies have moved from the realm of psychology to neurology and genetics, and there is far more hope today than ever before thanks to groundbreaking new research into causes and treatments. Now, Dr. Temple Grandin reports from the forefront of autism science, bringing her singular perspective to a thrilling journey into the heart of the autism revolution. Weaving her own experience with remarkable new discoveries, Grandin introduces the neuroimaging advances and genetic research that link brain science to behavior, even sharing her own brain scan to show us which differences might explain common symptoms. We meet the scientists and self-advocates who are exploring innovative theories of what causes autism and how we can diagnose and best treat it. Grandin also highlights long-ignored sensory problems and the transformative effects we can have by treating autism symptom by symptom, rather than with an umbrella diagnosis. She argues that raising and educating kids on the spectrum isn't just a matter of focusing on their weaknesses; in the science that reveals their long-overlooked strengths, she shows us new ways to foster their unique contributions. Originally published in January of 2014. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.  

Neal Brennan is an Emmy nominated writer, director, producer, standup comedian, and co-creator of Comedy Central’s legendary Chappelle’s Show. This week, Neal visits Google to discuss his career journey and his comedy show Unacceptable. In his new theatrical comedy show Neal Brennan: Unacceptable, Neal meticulously examines his own defects, attempting to understand his baffling inability to fit into a group and the alienation that comes along with it. Incorporating true stories from childhood through the present, Neal delivers a powerful narrative comedy, infusing humor in vulnerability in an impactful way that elicits rich emotions, poignant thoughts and captivates the audience. Unacceptable is Neal’s 2nd solo off-Broadway show, an extension of his 2016 critically acclaimed show 3 Mics. Moderated by Suzette Bishop. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.  

Foreign Policy managing editor and former CNN South Asia bureau chief Ravi Agrawal takes us on a journey across India, through remote rural villages and massive metropolises, to highlight how one tiny device - the smartphone - is effecting staggering changes across all facets of Indian life. The rise of smartphones, and with them access to the internet, has caused nothing short of a revolution in India. In the West, technological advances have progressed step-by-step - from dial-up Internet connections, to broadband access, to wireless, and now 4G data on phones. But the vast majority of Indians, particularly low-income and rural citizens, have leapfrogged straight to the smartphone era, disrupting centuries of tradition and barriers of wealth, language, caste, and gender. As always with India, the numbers are staggering: in 2000, 20 million Indians had access to the internet; by 2017, 465 million were online, with three Indians discovering the internet every second - mostly on smartphones. Agrawal shows how widespread internet use is poised to transform everyday life in India: the status of women, education, jobs, dating, marriage, family life, commerce, and governance. Just as the car shaped 20th century America - with the creation of the Interstate Highway System, suburbia, and malls - the smartphone is set to shape 21st century India. Nothing is untouched, from arranged marriages to social status to business start-ups, as smartphones move the entire economy from cash-based to credit-based. Access to the internet is affecting the progress of progress itself. As Agrawal shows, while they offer immediate and sometimes mind-altering access to so much for so many, smartphones create no immediate utopia in a culture still driven by poverty, a caste system, gender inequality, illiteracy, and income disparity. Internet access has provided greater opportunities to women and changed the way in which India's many illiterate poor can interact with the world, but it has also meant that pornography and fake news have become much more widespread. Under a government keen to control content, it has created tensions. And in a climate of nationalism, it has fomented violence and even terrorism. What effect is this staggering technological revolution having on India's ancient political, cultural, and economic institutions? Keep listening to find out. Originally published in January of 2019. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.  

In celebration of #IamRemarkable Week, Dr. Jane Goodall discusses her podcast "Hopecast", and the moral and spiritual convictions that have driven her during her career journey as a researcher. For the past 30 years, Dr. Goodall has been speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees, other environmental crises, and her reasons for hope that humankind will solve the problems it has imposed on the earth. In July 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in what is now Tanzania. Her work at Gombe Stream would become the foundation of future primatological research and redefine the relationship between humans and animals. In 1977, Dr. Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, which continues the Gombe research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. The Institute is widely recognized for innovative, community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, a global environmental and humanitarian youth program, founded in 1991 and currently active in more than 60 countries.  Moderated by Kate Brandt. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.  

Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it help you understand why there is so much irrationality in the world? These are the goals of Rationality, Steven Pinker’s follow-up to to his book Enlightenment Now. In the 21st century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding—and at the same time, appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that developed vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year also produce so much fake news, medical quackery, and conspiracy theorizing? Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are an irrational species — cavemen out of time saddled with biases, fallacies, and illusions. After all, we discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives, and discovered the benchmarks for rationality itself. Instead, he explains that we think in ways that are sensible in the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning our best thinkers have discovered over the millennia. Brimming with insight and humor, Rationality will enlighten, inspire, and empower. Moderated by Googler Brian Welle. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.