Discovery's Experiential Storytelling in Virtual Reality (VR) with Jeff Abramson

My guest today is Akshay Kothari, the Chief Operating Officer at Notion. As COO, Akshay is one of the top people driving the ship at this next-generation software platform that's enabling everyday users to create their own software tools instead of settling for what's provided on the market. Despite Notion being a young and small company of around 50 people, it has received a valuation of $2 billion dollars in its latest venture capital funding round — making it one of the fastest moving ventures in Silicon Valley. In today's discussion with Akshay we explore the future of Notion and this new movement of democratizing software development, enabling anyone to create their own software tools. More at http://mindandmachine.io

My guest today is Dr. Bertalan Mesko, also known as The Medical Futurist. He's the Director of The Medical Futurist Institute, delivers keynote addresses all over the world, and runs a popular magazine and YouTube channel on the future of medicine with an emphasis on how technology will shape healthcare. Dr. Mesko is a physician with a PhD in genomics, and an Amazon Top 100 author. With the Coronavirus pandemic underway, we get into the nature of pandemics, what stages to look for in the evolution of the COVID-19 crisis, and what we can expect with future pandemics. Then we discuss how emerging technologies are being used to fight the virus, and how we can better prepare to fight future pandemics by leveraging Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Genomics, 3D Printing, and other advanced technologies.

My guest today is Nir Eyal, who writes and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. The MIT Technology Review dubbed Nir, "The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology." Nir has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Institute of Design at Stanford. He's the author of two bestselling books, "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products" and "Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life". We explore the the psychology of focus, and how to channel your mind to achieve more.

My guest today is Anders Ericsson, author of the renowned book "Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise". He is among the world's leading authorities on how to new master skills. Anders is a Professor of Psychology and conducted much of the research on expertise and peak performance that Malcolm Gladwell famously referenced to develop the 10,000 hour rule in Gladwell's book Outliers. However, as we discuss today, Malcom Gladwell mis-interpreted much of the science behind the 10,000 hour rule. Anders demonstrates that talent is overrated and peak achievement is dependent on a specific type of learning called "deliberate practice", and that your skill in any area is a function of the quantity and quality of "mental representations" you have for that activity. We explore the science of learning and of skill mastery -- how it happens, and how to do it. Subscribe to the MIND & MACHINE future-tech newsletter: https://www.mindandmachine.io/newsletter

My guest today is Steven Kotler. Steven is one of the world's leading experts on achieving Ultimate Human Performance through Flow States. "Flow" is the cognitive state of full immersion and focus in which brain activity changes to enable peak human capability across an intellectual or physical activity. It's characterized by rapt attention so deep that one loses their sense of space and time, tapping into radically heightened performance, creativity, and learning.