
Forward Thinking
Forward Thinking examines groundbreaking ways in which the world is evolving and how people and organizations can respond to changing demands and technologies. In each episode theorists, innovators, and business leaders discuss global trends—technology, artificial intelligence, globalization, urbanization, climate change, and more—with hosts Michael Chui and Janet Bush of the McKinsey Global Institute.
Latest episodes

Sep 5, 2023 • 35min
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 future. Before her current role, she worked for many years in European public policy. She was head of the European Political Strategy Center, the in-house think tank of the European Commission, from 2014 to 2019. In this podcast, she covers topics including the following: Investing for climate impact The challenges in Europe’s clean energy technological ecosystem Useful innovation beyond new products The new priority of energy security accelerating the net-zero transition See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Aug 15, 2023 • 38min
Forward Thinking on the recipe for Asia’s success story with Justin Yifu Lin
Justin Yifu Lin, dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics, discusses topics such as new structural economics, catching up for emerging economies, the future of globalization, and the momentum of the economies in China and Asia.

14 snips
Jul 26, 2023 • 43min
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 of the Longevity Forum and a member of the World Economic Forum's Council on Healthy Aging and Longevity, topics that are very much the focus of the McKinsey Health Institute. His book The 100-Year Life has sold more than a million copies in 15 languages. In this podcast, he covers topics including the following: What benefits could greater longevity offer to economies? Redefining retirement What could be done to help people live healthier for longer See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Jul 12, 2023 • 39min
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 at Sciences Po, Paris, an associate fellow in the Africa Program at Chatham House, and a member of the African Union reform team. Lopes was the policy director for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. He serves as an advisor on MGI’s research on Africa, including our latest report, which discusses the continent’s human capital and natural resources and how they can help to accelerate productivity and reimagine Africa’s economic growth. His views are his own. In this podcast, he covers topics including the following: The factors constraining Africa’s potential The promise of AI for Africa The threat and opportunity of climate change for Africa See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Jun 28, 2023 • 48min
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 including the following: Subjective well-being How the labor market has evolved since the pandemic A decline in inequality The potential impact of AI Why write a new economics text book? See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

41 snips
May 31, 2023 • 49min
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 topics including the following: What is generative AI? How substantial are the performance improvements workers can gain from using generative AI How to use human management skills to get better results from generative AI What generative AI means for the future of work and trust What he learned when he made the use of generative AI mandatory in his classes See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

May 17, 2023 • 37min
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 for financial research at Goethe University, Frankfurt, and on the economics faculty of Freiburg University. Kotz covers topics including the following: Parallels between the 2007–09 global financial crisis and today’s financial turbulence. The balance that banking regulators need to strike to protect the economy but encourage innovation. Being prepared by taking eclectic perspectives. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Apr 19, 2023 • 40min
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 and a senior fellow of the Growth Lab at the Harvard Center for International Development. He’s also a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Center for Global Development. Two themes stand out in his work: the diffusion of technology and knowledge, and migration. In this podcast, Bahar covers topics including the following: Why some countries are rich and some are poor The role of people on the move in spreading knowledge and raising productivity The opportunity of Ukraine’s refugee diaspora How companies can reap rewards by integrating migrants See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Mar 22, 2023 • 40min
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 Macro Associates, a global macroeconomics consultancy. He covers topics including the following: The “mother of all” debt crises and what to do about it Likely future trends in the global balance sheet—the world’s economic health and wealth The trajectory of globalization Which “megathreat” worries him most See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Mar 1, 2023 • 41min
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 does nature or the ecosystem provide services to the economy? How much needs to be invested in nature? What role can capitalism play in addressing issues around sustainability? What kind of innovations have real potential to mitigate carbon emissions? See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
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