Talks at Google

One Sikh. One former Skinhead. Together, an unusual friendship emerged out of a desire to make a difference."One Sikh. One former Skinhead. Together, an unusual friendship emerged out of a desire to make a difference. When white supremacist Wade Michael Page murdered six people and wounded four in a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin in 2012, Pardeep Kaleka was devastated. The temple leader, now dead, was his father. His family, who had immigrated to the U.S. from India when Pardeep was young, had done everything right. Why was this happening to him? Meanwhile, Arno Michaelis, a former skinhead and founder of one of the largest racist skinhead organizations in the world, had spent years of his life committing terrible acts in the name of white power. When he heard about the attack, waves of guilt washing over him, he knew he had to take action and fight against the very crimes he used to commit. After the Oak Creek tragedy, Arno and Pardeep worked together to start an organization called Serve 2 Unite, which works with students to create inclusive, compassionate and nonviolent climates in their schools and communities. Their story is one of triumph of love over hate, and of two men who breached a great divide to find compassion and forgiveness. With New York Times bestseller Robin Gaby Fisher telling Arno and Pardeep's story, The Gift of Our Wounds is a timely reminder of the strength of the human spirit, and the courage and compassion that reside within us all. Get the book here: https://goo.gl/AVGfmD Moderated by Mike Abrams. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

Noam Chomsky, renowned intellectual and critic, discusses his personal political views, control of information and media, political activism, Bernie Sanders, public opinion, maintaining sanity, learning approach, AI's direction, neoliberalism's impact on decision-making power, and the effects of advertising on the media industry.

Michael Pollan has written 5 New York Times best sellers including Food Rules; In Defense of Food; and The Omnivore's Dilemma. In this talk, he shares insights and answer questions about psychedelics based on research done for his book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. Get the book here: https://goo.gl/x37Cpr Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

The Fifth Diamond tells the story of Irene Weisberg Zisblatt. This story moves from her childhood in Hungary through her terrifying coming of age as a prisoner in Nazi death camps and continues on to her life in America. The lack of bitterness with which Irene tells of her experience, with her straight for worth style, adds power to what is essentially a testament to the triumph of the human spirit faced with the dehumanizing ordeal of life in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Irene found that believing strongly that the horrors of the camps were temporary helped her cling to the hope she could survive and be human again. It took her 50 years to unleash the terror of her experiments and find the courage to re-live the pain in order to share her story, without hate or bitterness. Get the book here: https://goo.gl/iUJzxk Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

Emily Lakdawalla, Senior Editor of the Planetary Society and self-described "Planetary Evangelist," and Googler Scott Maxwell, a former JPL engineer, engage in a delightful discussion about her new book, The Design and Engineering of Curiosity: How the Mars Rover Performs Its Job. Taking over four years to write, this book is an in-depth exploration of the incredible design and engineering of the most complex robot ever built by NASA, including all of the obstacles and solutions that one would expect from such a groundbreaking project. This book has been described as "destined to be the final word on the detailed story behind this amazing, epic and continuing scientific adventure." Ashwin Vasavada, chief scientist on the Curiosity mission, said, "If the Curiosity rover had a glove compartment, you'd find this book inside of it." Listen to their scintillating discussion about all the details you've ever wanted to know -- why there are holes in the wheels, for example, and what those holes "spell" on the ground when they leave their mark on the dusty Mars surface. Or learn how Curiosity takes its own selfies, and how the picture for the cover of the book was created. After hearing this discussion, you'll find that you're more curious about Curiosity than ever before! Get the book here: https://goo.gl/P48mWm Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

Renowned cybersecurity expert Frank Abagnale shares his transformation from a notorious con man to an international cybersecurity expert, discussing his experiences running away as a teenage pilot, his criminal past and eventual redemption as an FBI agent. He reflects on the power of impersonation, discusses real-life characters portrayed in movies, and shares insights on cybersecurity and dealing with breaches. He also talks about the challenging path to becoming an FBI agent and introduces a new technology called TrueSona.