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2022 French Elections, With Axel Gyldén Senior Reporter at L'Express, 16 April 2022

Between the two rounds of the French Presidential election, Sami J. Karam speaks to Axel Gyldén, senior reporter at L'Express, France's leading weekly. Topics include analysis of the first round results, President Emmanuel Macron's popularity, Marine Le Pen's probability of winning and what such a victory would mean for France and Europe.

With Eduardo Mufarej, Founder of Renova, 17 March 2022

What makes an effective politician? Politicians come from all walks of life but the vast majority of them do not have formal politician training. Renova, an innovative non-partisan non-profit organization in Brazil, seeks to change that and to also improve governance, by training aspiring political candidates. In this podcast, Sami J. Karam speaks to founder and chairman Eduardo Mufarej about Renova's mission, its training curriculum and its prospects.

You Are What You Risk, With Michele Wucker, 19 April 2021

Sami J. Karam welcomes back best-selling author and strategist Michele Wucker to discuss her new book "You Are What You Risk". Michele explains the concepts of a "risk fingerprint" and of a "personal risk portfolio" among others. 0:00 Introduction of Michele Wucker 2:13 Thesis of 'You Are What You Risk' 5:20 How much of attitude to risk is innate vs. acquired through experience 10:40 Taking a risk vs. following a path; Risk and entrepreneurship 14:10 About each person's risk fingerprint 19:45 Taking risk as the only woman in the room 24:40 "Risk is value-neutral" 33:00 Matching risk fingerprints in interactions; Measuring risk 38:20 The personal risk portfolio 42:25 Remembering the onset of the pandemic as a gray rhino

Lebanon in Crisis, With Joe Issa El Khoury, 10 April 2021

Sami J. Karam speaks with Joe Issa El Khoury, a Beirut-based financier, about the tragic events that have unfolded in Lebanon since 2019. Issa El Khoury explains the sequence of events that led to the present, and offers a possible way forward. 0:00 Introduction of Joe Issa El Khoury 2:25 What is it like right now on the ground in Beirut? 8:33 Why did Lebanon have a golden period in 1945-75; why was it later so prone to crisis? 17:40 The Rafik Hariri era and the return of growth 1990-2005 20:00 What explains the weakness of the Lebanese state: geography and demographics 26:30 Lebanon's diversity as a source of wealth; Example of Lebanese cuisine 30:40 Crossing the line from a laissez-faire economy to a crony economy 35:05 The real estate boom of 2007-11 36:55 The impact of the Syrian civil war 39:10 Crowding out the private sector 44:10 The proximate factors that led to the meltdown 46:15 The current condition of the banking sector; Role of the Central Bank 51:00 Will depositors suffer a haircut? The Lazard and other plans 54:45 Talk of privatization of state assets 59:45 Political patronage in the public sector 1:01:50 "All roads lead to Washington DC and the acronym IMF" 1:05:20 Political reform and the role of the diaspora

The Pandemic as a Gray Rhino Event, With Michele Wucker, 25 March 2020

Sami J. Karam speaks to best-selling author Michele Wucker about her 2016 book The Gray Rhino and how its method and lessons apply to the coronavirus pandemic. Topics include: 0:00 Introduction of Michele Wucker 1:05 When will we be able to travel to Asia or Europe again? 3:10 Explaining the concept and examples of Gray Rhino events 9:00 Various reactions to the spread of the pandemic 15:50 Was the virus predictable? 19:20 Why should we have been readier for the virus when it is so rare? 22:00 Why we ignore what is "over there". Did it start "over there" or over here? 25:35 How could we have prepared for the pandemic? 31:00 The current catch-22: deaths by virus vs. deaths of despair 44:10 Stages of a Gray Rhino event applied to the pandemic 50:10 What other Gray Rhino events do you worry about? A triad of Gray Rhinos 55:45 How alarmists help avert deep crises 59:40 Conclusion