Our American Discourse, Ep. 19: Imagining a Future That’s Better Than the Past

Nationalism is experiencing a resurgence. Global cooperation is under attack. Xenophobia is ascending from all corners of the Western world. “Populists” speak openly about returning to the past. What happened to the future? What happened to the optimistic vision of overcoming the differences between us, coming together, and building a better world? Wouldn’t you like to hear someone make that case? Better yet, we found someone who’s investing real money to make it happen.In this episode, philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen shares his vision of a progressive, cooperative future where people and technology work together to build an inclusive, intelligent society.

Mr. Berggruen is the Chairman of the Berggruen Institute, a think tank he founded in Los Angeles after a career in finance, real estate, art, culture, and governance around the world. He is a board member of multiple museums, an advisor to elite universities, and a member of the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans.To listen to this episode of Our American Discourse, click the orange arrow in the Soundcloud player at the top of this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, Google Play, or Stitcher.==========“Our American Discourse” is produced by Aubrey Hicks, Jonathan Schwartz, and myself, and mixed by Corey and Ryan Hedden.