
World Economic Forum
Welcome to our podcast collection featuring expert voices and fascinating stories from around the world.
Latest episodes

Apr 10, 2025 • 44min
Can aviation ever be sustainable? Here are some paths to net zero
Aviation is growing, but its environmental impact does not have to - if the technology and policies are available to de-carbonise the sector. We hear from a company making sustainable aviation fuel with waste CO2; the head of one of the world's busiest airports, and from the body representing airports around the world. Hosts: Robin Pomeroy, Podcasts Editor, World Economic Forum; Laia Barbarà, Head, Climate Strategy - Net Zero, World Economic Forum Guests: Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports Ayesha Choudhury, Chief Commercial Officer at Infinium Justin Erbacci, Director General of Airports Council International World Links: Airports of Tomorrow: Global Aviation Sustainability Outlook 2025: Related podcasts: Check out all our podcasts on : - - : - : - : Join the :

Apr 8, 2025 • 31min
What you might get wrong about progress - lessons for leaders: Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker
In this insightful discussion, Harvard professor and cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker, known for his work on human progress, uncovers surprising truths about our advancement as a species. He highlights how life expectancy and poverty rates have improved, yet warns of cognitive biases that distort our perceptions of progress. Pinker emphasizes the interplay between freedom and happiness, urging leaders to rely more on data than intuition. He advocates for a balanced understanding of history to navigate today’s global challenges and foster human well-being.

Apr 3, 2025 • 39min
Beyond the hype, how industries are deploying AI at the heart of their operations
There was the hype, then the testing, now companies are deploying artificial intelligence at the heart of their operations. We ask one of the world's most prominent AI scientists for his advice for companies, and hear how Siemens is creating the 'brains' to run the factories of the future. Guests: Andrew Ng, managing general partner of AI FUNDS and founder of DeepLearning.AI Cedrik Neike, CEO Digital Industries, Siemens Cathy Li, Head, AI, Data and Metaverse, World Economic Forum Kiva Allgood, Head, Centre for Advanced Manufacturing & Supply Chains, World Economic Forum Links: AI in Action: Beyond Experimentation to Transform Industry: Frontier Technologies in Industrial Operations: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence Agents: Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains: Related podcasts: Check out all our podcasts on : - - : - : - : Join the :

Mar 31, 2025 • 28min
Ballet changed Misty Copeland’s life. How it could shape a new generation of leaders
How can we recognize potential and unlock it? Misty Copeland was the first Black woman to be promoted to principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. But as a child she almost quit after her first class – until an early teacher convinced her to return. Misty talks to Meet The Leader about the ways dance changed how she navigated life and how it taught her key skills such as resilience, empathy and curiosity. She shares how she uses her perspective and experience to found the Misty Copeland Foundation and develop a free afterschool program that reinvents how dance is taught to bridge diversity gaps while also teaching key leadership skills. She shares why these skills and approaches are vital to driving future change and what any leader can learn about elevating others. This interview was recorded in January 2025 at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. To learn more: Misty Copeland Foundation: Special Open Forum Screening: Flower: Dancing Through Adversity: How can art drive equality for women? Two cultural trailblazers weigh in: About this episode: Transcript: Related Podcasts: Radio Davos: Dance or die: the ballet dancer who faced down Al Qaeda to become the voice of stateless refugees:

Mar 27, 2025 • 30min
Happy Birthday Radio Davos! What we learned from 5 years of Forum podcasts
Space - how advances up there can help life down here: Don't Look Up: In the age of the 'manosphere', what's the future for feminism? With Jude Kelly of the WOW Festival: The promises and perils of AI - Stuart Russell on Radio Davos: AI vs Art: Will AI rip the soul out of music, movies and art, or help express our humanity?: Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts: YouTube: - https://www.youtube.com/@wef/podcasts Radio Davos - subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164 Meet the Leader - subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560 Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552 Join the World Economic Forum Podcast Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wefpodcastclub

Mar 26, 2025 • 32min
Understanding spatial computing -- and how leaders can prep for the next tech shift
Spatial computing will extend computing beyond screens. In the process it could change how we communicate and interact with technology as a whole -- transforming how we work, how we learn, how we preserve memories, and even what can be owned (with issues like virtual air rights highlighting new business opportunities and regulatory challenges). Future Dynamics founder and spatial computing expert Cathy Hackl will share what to expect and what's needed to scale this field further (or what could hold it back). She'll also explain how companies and leaders should be preparing and reveal the advice she gives CEOs to help them get ready for this tech shift and the workforce that will come with it, Gen Alpha. About this episode: Related podcast: Radio Davos: Spatial computing: why the future of the internet is 3D

Mar 20, 2025 • 17min
'I want my daughter to have the same opportunities as my sons - that's not unreasonable,' - Crystal Awardee David Beckham
David Beckham shot to fame in the 1990s playing football for Manchester United and England and boosted the game’s profile in the USA playing for LA Galaxy. Off the pitch he was at the centre of Cool Britiannia-era glamour, marrying Posh Spice pop star-turned-fashion designer Victoria. He’s a global brand, and he has used that fame and influence, among other things, as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations children’s fund, UNICEF, where his 7 Fund - named after the number he wore on the pitch - works in schools around the world to combat bullying, violence, child marriage and missed education. Beckham, who turns 50 this year, was at the Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos to receive a Crystal Award, which the Forum bestows on people in arts and entertainment who have gone beyond the day job to help improve the state of the world. At a time when overseas development is under pressure like never before, and with a rise in online misogyny, we spoke to David Beckham about his work with UNICEF and his role as a father. Catch up on all the action from the Annual Meeting 2025 at and across social media using the hashtag #WEF25. Related podcasts: What just happened in Davos, and how is the world different now? Global Risks Report: the big issues facing the world at Davos 2025 The 90-year-old using sports to change the lives of refugees Check out all our podcasts on : - - : - : - : Join the :

Mar 12, 2025 • 24min
Anxious Generation: how to tackle a mental health pandemic
In The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt says there is clear evidence that giving children smart phones with addictive social media has caused a mental health pandemic. The NYU-Stern social psychologist, who also wrote The Happiness Hypothesis, spoke to us at the Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos. Watch the video version of this podcast at Find out what the World Economic Forum is doing on mental health: Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts: Radio Davos - subscribe: Meet the Leader - subscribe: Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: Join the World Economic Forum Podcast Club:

Mar 6, 2025 • 25min
How ‘positive masculinity’ can improve men's and women’s at work and home
Masculinity is having a moment. Leveraging it - in the right way - can help men and women succeed while bridging the gender gap both at work and at home. Gary Barker is the founder of Equimundo, a non-profit dedicated to research and solutions that help bring men into connected, equitable, caring versions of manhood. He shares the insights gleaned since this organization’s founding more than a decade ago – a group that has collected the largest dataset on men, masculinity and gender equality and that publishes the only global report on men’s involvement in parenting and care work. He breaks down the blindspots that can hold organizations back and the best practices that can drive the much needed norm changes. To learn more: Equimundo: World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report, 2024: Related podcasts: IKEA HR chief shares decades of career lessons learned and what’s needed to bridge the gender equity gap: How bridging design gaps in science and tech can tackle gender bias:

Feb 28, 2025 • 33min
Adam Grant: The key trait future leaders need to succeed - and rethinking the classic workday
In this engaging discussion, Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and best-selling author, explores the vital soft skills needed for future leaders. He argues for a focus on creativity and collaboration in modern workplaces, while also introducing the concept of 'job crafters.' Grant shares insightful lessons from his college job as a magician, emphasizing the importance of engaging skeptics. He also advocates for a 'To-Don’t' list to boost productivity and a four-day work week to enhance innovation in teams.