When Rajiv Shah was in his late 20s and didn’t know what to do with his life, he got a job at a fledgling nonprofit, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Before he knew it, he was a driving force behind a global vaccination program that immunized 900 million children and saved 16 million lives.
At 36, he became the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), managing a $20 billion budget, overseeing a staff of 10,000, and leading the U.S. response to global humanitarian crises.
Today, as president of the Rockefeller Foundation, he’s finding innovative solutions to mitigate climate change and end energy poverty.
What connects these experiences? At every step, Raj maintained a big bet mentality. What is a big bet? “A concerted effort to fundamentally solve a single, pressing problem in your community or our world. Big bets require setting profound, seemingly unachievable goals and believing they are achievable.” In this episode, he shares his methodology for creating large-scale change and making the world a better place.
Host: Rufus Griscom
Guest: Rajiv Shah
Book: Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens
Why the Modern World Puts Us All at Risk for Addiction (2021)
WORK: Henry David Thoreau on Making a Meaningful Living
RISE AND SHINE: How to Have the Perfect Morning
Artificial Intelligence Meets Virtual Worlds: The Future of Sentience
You Should Have More Fun This Summer. Here’s Why.
PARKING: How It Explains the World
OUTLIVE (Part 2): How to Optimize Your Diet, Sleep, and Emotional Health
OUTLIVE (Part 1): Peter Attia’s Guide to the Science of Longevity
THE WAGER: David Grann Tells a Tale of Shipwreck and Mutiny
THE REAL WORK: Adam Gopnik on the Mystery of Mastery
JOY OF MOVEMENT: How Exercise Can Help You Find Happiness and Connection
BREAKTHROUGH: How to Get Unstuck and Achieve Anything
EXCELLENT ADVICE: Life Lessons From Wired Co-Founder Kevin Kelly
SELFLESS: Why “You” Are a Social Creation
The Next Big Idea Club Presents — "Immortality: A User's Guide"
Steven Johnson & Michael Specter on the Future of Life
You Need a Bedtime (from The Next Big Idea Daily)
SENSES: Gretchen Rubin’s Guide to Getting Out of Your Head and Into the World
PSYCH: The Story of the Human Mind
PREPPY: The Surprising Origins of American Style
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Vanished Podcast
American Scandal
The Generation Why Podcast
The Minds of Madness - True Crime Stories
American History Tellers