Meet the Billionaires: the 1,645 men and women who control a massive share of global assets worth $6.5 trillion. Darrell West reveals what the other 99.99998% of us need to know.With rich anecdotes and personal narratives, West goes inside the world of the ultra wealthy. Meet U.S. billionaires such as Sheldon Adelson, Michael Bloomberg, David and Charles Koch, George Soros, Tom Steyer, and Donald Trump-as well as international billionaires from around the globe.The growing po...

Information technology has dramatically changed our lives in areas ranging from commerce and entertainment to voting. Now, policy advocates and government officials hope to bring the benefits of enhanced information technology to health care. Already, consumers can access a tremendous amount of medical information online. Some physicians encourage patients to use email or web messaging to manage simple medical issues. Increasingly, health care products can be purchased electronically. Yet ...

Nearly a century ago, famed educator John Dewey said that ""if we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow."" That wisdom resonates more strongly than ever today, and that maxim underlies this insightful look at the present and future of education in the digital age.As Darrell West makes clear, today's educational institutions must reinvent themselves to engage students successfully and provide them with the skills needed to compete in an increasingly...

How does a CEO transform their business when the last playbook died before the pandemic?Welcome to the AfterShock era.In a world of polycrisis— where climate collapse, AI acceleration, societal fragmentation, and economic instability collide— business leaders can no longer maintain the status quo. From now until 2030, CEOs will be expected to lead the reinvention in this volatile new reality.Caroline Stokes, author of Elephants ...

Curing the causes and consequences of TrumpismIt's no secret that the United States faces extraordinary political and societal challenges, even as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Political polarization and extremism are the most apparent symptoms, resulting from long-term economic and social inequities as well as a toxic information ecosystem.It is easy to blame Donald Trump for the sad state of American democracy. After all, he abused his executive a...

In the new Space Race, with multiple countries and competing interests deciding who gets to claim victory over the cosmos, it's time to analyze the legal, policy, and regulatory aspects of space endeavors, define the role of private corporations in exploration, and determine how to handle space tourism, mining, and settlements.The expansion of space exploration raises both fundamental and existential questions for humanity. How should scientific advancement take pl...

Many of America's greatest artists, scientists, investors, educators, and entrepreneurs have come from abroad. Rather than suffering from the ""brain drain"" of talented and educated individuals emigrating, the United States has benefited greatly over the years from the ""brain gain"" of immigration. These gifted immigrants have engineered advances in energy, information technology, international commerce, sports, arts, and culture. To stay competitive, the United States must institute mor...

Robots, artificial intelligence, and driverless cars are no longer things of the distant future. They are with us today and will become increasingly common in coming years, along with virtual reality and digital personal assistants.As these tools advance deeper into everyday use, they raise the question?how will they transform society, the economy, and politics? If companies need fewer workers due to automation and robotics, what happens to those who once held those jobs and don't h...

Artificial Intelligence is here, today. How can society make the best use of it?Until recently, artificial intelligence sounded like something out of science fiction. But the technology of artificial intelligence, AI, is becoming increasingly common, from self-driving cars to e-commerce algorithms that seem to know what you want to buy before you do. Throughout the economy and many aspects of daily life, artificial intelligence has become the transformative techno...

Big, unexpected changes are here to stay.Slow, incremental change has become a relic of the past. Today's shifts come fast and big, what Darrell West calls megachanges, in which dramatic disruptions in trends and policies occur on a regular basis.Domestically, we see megachange at work in the new attitudes and policies toward same-sex marriage, health care, smoking, and the widespread legalization of marijuana use. Globally, we have seen the extraordinary rise and ...

The world is going mobile at an astounding pace. Estimates show 80 percent of global Internet access will take place through mobile devices by 2016. Smartphones, tablets, and handheld devices have reshaped communications, the global economy, and the very way in which we live. The revolution is an electronic nirvana: for the first time in human history we have sophisticated digital applications to help us learn, access financial and health care records, connect with others, and build busine...

Why are Americans so angry with each other?The United States is caught in a partisan hyperconflict that divides politicians, communities-and even families. Politicians from the president to state and local office-holders play to strongly-held beliefs and sometimes even pour fuel on the resulting inferno. This polarization has become so intense that many people no longer trust anyone from a differing perspective.Drawing on his personal story of growing up as a...