White House Chronicle

Before introducing their guest, Capers Jones, Hosts Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III talk about the possibility that AI could help middle-income and poor countries leapfrog older infrastructure and catch up to high-income economies. Joining in later, Jones, enthuses about both AI and robotics, but worries about the displacement of human workers. While he favors open source and broad sharing of knowledge, he also favors legislation to limit harmful uses.

Rebecca A. Fannin, a journalist, author and entrepreneur, has written about the tech titans of China. Could the Midwest, from where she hails, become a challenger to China in technology? She speaks with hosts Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III.

An innovative aid program in Malawi, which transfers cash directly to the poorest adults via mobile money wallets, is increasing household income, business ownership, and savings, even improving access to healthcare. Grace Jackson, Malawi director for GiveDirectly, speaks with hosts Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III.

Middle East Broadcasting Networks has entered a crowded and well-financed arena. Jeffrey Gedmin, MBN president and CEO, speaks with Hosts Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III about how the network, which is part of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, is attracting an audience in the Arab countries.

Travis York, director of the Center for STEMM Education & Workforce at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, speaks with Hosts Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III about the implications of declining Ph.D. admissions in American scientific research. York also detailed the AAAS's role in STEM education, noting that the association adds another "M" -- for medicine -- to STEMM.

Since its founding in 1975 by Robert Craig, an extraordinary mountaineer and policymaker, the Keystone Policy Center has been empowering leaders to overcome national and local policy conflicts they previously thought were insurmountable. The nonprofit center mediates and facilitates dialog -- "it's the Keystone way" -- on agriculture, environment, energy, education, and public health issues. Christine Scanlan, Keystone president and CEO, and Ernest House, Jr., senior policy director. and director of Tribal and Indigenous Engagement, speak with Host Llewellyn King and Co-Host Adam Clayton Powell III.

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, has just signalled its nuclear ambitions at sea by saying that the country should build two warships every year in the next five years. Mike Chinoy, a former CNN senior Asia correspondent, who has made 17 trips to Pyongyang, shared his insights on Kim and discussed a new book, "Miss Kathi: Saving Lives in North Korea," which he co-authored with Swiss aid worker Kathi Zellweger.

Dr. Arthur "Tim" Garson, Jr., is an eminent pediatric cardiologist and a prolific writer. He has written 10 books, many on U.S. health care, and the latest in which history's greatest debates are served at the dinner table. He shares his thoughts on the U.S. health care system, health behaviors, and what he thinks is his most fulfilling work. Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III host.

Host Llewellyn King interviews speakers at the Earthshot Foundation's meeting in Washington. The nonprofit, nonpartisan group's programs pursue dialogues and initiatives to promote intelligent system design and trust in U.S. energy and resource policies.

Joe Yun says he is a "hands-on-keyboard" engineer. He is lending a helping hand with AI across different departments at the University of Pittsburgh. He is rah-rah about the technology, but says no one has a clear idea of its future impact. Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III host.

Natural gas is the backbone of U.S. electricity supply in the AI era. Host Llewellyn King traveled to Rockwall, Texas, located in an exceptionally fast-growing area east of Dallas, to interview David Naylor, president and CEO of Rayburn Electric Cooperative, and other executives, and tour the utility's gas-fired power plant.

Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III shares his memories of entertainment industry legend Quincy Jones. Their friendship, which was constant, began during Adam's boyhood years in Paris and included his working stints at Quincy Jones Entertainment. 

Geoff Garrett, dean of the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, talks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III about artificial intelligence and a $200 million donation, from venture capitalist Mark Stevens and his wife Mary, to apply artificial intelligence across academic disciplines at USC.

Andrea McCarren, daughter of an Air Force Brigadier General and president of The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes, talks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III about "empowering veterans with the tools and resources so their transition to civilian life is successful." This support even extends to providing service dogs to veterans -- six of which Andrea, a veteran journalist, has raised and trained.

Tom Falcone, president of the Large Public Power Council, speaks with Host Llewellyn King about the essentiality of electricity, and what is causing rising electricity prices.

In times of war and peace, people know what they know because of journalists. Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III talk about the "essentiality" of journalism, drawing on their long experience in print and broadcast media.

Do you want to become not just a better user, but a "power-user"of AI? Nicholas Jennings Hallman, an Associate Professor of Accounting at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, talks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III about the best practices for interacting with AI.

Benjamin Franklin said many pithy things about debt. What would he say about the total U.S. debt which has exceeded $39 trillion this month? Michael K. Farr, chairman of FarrCrest Capital, has a lot to say about it. He also talks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III about Social Security and his books.

In this episode, Jack Woodville London, an Austin-based author, talks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III about his books and teaching creative writing to veterans. London also gives aspiring military writers -- applicable to other writers -- some advice to sustain them on the journey to getting published. 

This is National Women's History Month and Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping the workforce, creating a significant, history-making trend where women face disproportionate risks of job displacement, particularly in clerical and administrative roles. Studies indicate that some 6 million women in the United States, who hold highly automatable positions, may need to find new jobs or leave the workforce entirely as AI adoption spreads. Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III discuss the impact of AI on working women with Jayeeta Putatunda, director of the AI Center of Excellence at Fitch Ratings, and Meredith Delaware, executive director at PCI Federal Government Services.

Chase F. Robinson, director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, talks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III about the museum's wonders of Asian art, from Morocco to Japan, and its innovative exhibitions, like the recent "Korean Treasures" which spanned 1,500 years, and drew record numbers of visitors, and the new "Vishnu's Cosmic Ocean," showcasing a colossal bronze statue of the Hindu god Vishnu, cast in Cambodia 1,000 years ago, and is the largest-ever cast in Southeast Asia.

W.B. Yeats often wrote about Ireland as a land of myth and magic. In this episode, author Conor McAnally, talks about Ireland and the mythical and magical Irish way with words with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III.

Adam Clayton Powell III shares his memories of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the charismatic civil rights leader, two-time Democratic presidential candidate, and talk show host. 

This week's guest, journalist J. Mark Powell, says that history books tell you what happened during the Civil War, but his new book, "Witness to War," allows readers to experience it firsthand through its witnesses: Union and Confederate, battlefront and homefront, soldiers, civilians (men, women, and a few children). The book is based on Powell's private collection of 500 letters, and he reads a poignant one from a freed slave, living in Canada, to her former masters. Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III co-host.

Rayid Ghani, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who was the chief scientist of the Obama 2012 campaign, talks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III about AI literacy, machine learning, and the potential for AI to improve various sectors such as healthcare, education, and employment. He also addresses concerns about job losses due to AI, the role of AI in politics and democracy, and the challenges of detecting fake images and videos. 

Frank Martz, who used to play with the Baltimore Orioles, is now the manager of Altamonte Springs, Florida. He and his team have led the city to international recognition for innovation, while maintaining one of Florida’s lowest tax rates, low utility costs, and more than 13 years of debt-free operations. A winning city management plan. He speaks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell.

Freeman A. Hrabowski, III's life trajectory, from his participation in the Children's Crusade in Birmingham, Alabama, in May 1963, and jailing, to the presidency of the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country, is extraordinary and inspiring. Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III talk about math, music, faith and family, and the power of "everyday people" with him.

Newspaper closures around the country continue unabated -- recently, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced it will shut its doors in May. These venerable papers had a vast bundle of monopoly information, but feisty startups are creating a "new bundle" and are thriving, according to Merrill Brown, founding editor of MSNBC, who is researching them at Syracuse University. He speaks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III.

Thomas Campanella, a healthcare economist, says, "Our healthcare system is shaped by what you pay for and how you pay for it." At present, it is in terrible shape. How can this system become healthy? Campanella talks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III.

The new AI and Emerging Technologies Institute at Catholic University of America is offering specific undergraduate and graduate degrees in AI that blend technical education with the Catholic intellectual tradition on ethics and human dignity. It is led by Taylor Black, who also works at Microsoft, facilitating a dialog between big tech and academia. He and William Hederman, a visiting fellow at the university, speak with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III.

Mark Gabriel, president and CEO of United Power, is an energy savant and someone who speaks truth to electric power. In this episode he speaks frankly with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III about the need for all fuels, and his approach to keeping the lights on.

This is a year in which many feel, like Alice in Wonderland, as though they have fallen through the looking glass. Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III talk of many things with Peter Osnos, the distinguished author and founder of Public Affairs Books.

Alan J. Kuperman, an associate professor at the LBJ School of Public Policy, University of Texas, talks with co-hosts Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III about whether U.S. nuclear energy policy could accelerate weapons proliferation.

Charles Wong, CEO and Co-founder of Bifrost AI, tells Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III that we are in a "Cambrian explosion moment" with humanoid robotics, "where someone drops a product that is so powerful, so general that everyone will want one." Exciting.

In the wake of the BBC crisis, Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III, both veteran journalists, look at the mechanics of newspaper and broadcast production, and the effort to be fair. 

Host Llewellyn King traveled to Málaga, Spain, where more than 1,000 creatives from around the world gathered to explore the next era of design and creativity with AI at Freepik's Upscale Conf. 

Peter Osnos has had a brilliant career as a journalist, an author and a publisher. He talks about his career and the current "repositioning phase" of it with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III.

Lisa Countryman-Quiroz talks about the current U.S. jobs slump, and how the organization she heads, JVS Bay Area, helps job seekers, from those just starting out to those starting over after a layoff. Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III co-host.

Hedrick Smith is a journalist in full: a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and editor, an Emmy award-winning producer/correspondent, and a best-selling author. Returning to "White House Chronicle," Smith discusses a wide range of topics, including President Trump's fixation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, how America became "two Americas economically," and America's drift into British-style "party government." He also talks about the book he is working on. Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III co-host.

Data center growth is accelerating: Hyperscalers, large tech companies, are heavily investing in building massive data centers to support their cloud and AI services. But local opposition to them is growing, too. HED's Bill Kosik talks about data center design and engineering considerations with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III.

The barriers to market entry for medical devices -- everything from hearing aids to MRI machines -- here and abroad are significant. Some researchers suggest that more than 95 percent of proposed medical device innovations fail to launch. Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III talk to Alex Gorrie, founder and CEO of London-based Dromeda.ai.

Howard K. French, professor, journalist and bestselling author talks about his new book "Second Emancipation" with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III. The book is the second installment in a trilogy, which refers to the brief period beginning in 1957 when a slew of African colonies became countries. The liberation, French writes in his book, was at the center of a "movement of blackness," led by Ghana's charismatic first president, Kwame Nkrumah. 

China has planned its remarkable rise with pragmatism. Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III speak with Pascal Coppens, a European tech entrepreneur and author, who lived in China for almost 20 years. His upcoming book is "China's Next Miracle: 100+ concrete tips to stay in the game as China redefines the innovation model."

America and Europe are in the midst of a divorce. As Europe plans its new life with a sense of pride and determination, it is facing myriad problems, including migrant surges and Russian sabotage and disinformation. Then there is the problem of the erosion of liberal democracy in Europe. Right-wing politicians are gaining ground. America faces many similar problems in the new Trump era. Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III discuss these issues and more.

Jim Barksdale's $100 million gift 25 years ago changed the course of Mississippi public education. He gives an update on this historic gift which has helped children learn to read not only in his home state, but also, through Reading Universe (a service of WETA/Reading Rockets, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book), in other U.S. states and foreign countries. Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III co-host.

The threat from wildfire is growing and prescribed burning -- the controlled application of fire to a specific area of land to achieve defined management objectives -- is an important and traditional tool for maintaining healthy ecosystems and reducing wildfire risks. J. Morgan Varner, director of research and senior scientist at Tall Timbers in Tallahassee, Florida, discusses prescribed burning with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III.

The consensus among AI savants is that 2027 will be a key year -- a year in which AI achieves some degree of "sentience": It won't want to be shut down, for example. The HAL scenario, in the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" is coming. But Jeffrey Cole, director of the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future, is mostly "positive," about the fast march of AI. He speaks with Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III.

Batteries are powering our future, from electric vehicles to data centers. There is a growing need for energy storage, and there are advances in battery technology. Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III discuss the "essentiality" of batteries with Clinton Vince, chair of the U.S. Energy Practice at Dentons, the world's largest law firm, and John Howes, founder and principal at Redland Energy Group.

Public broadcasting "isn't going away" with the Trump cuts, Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III says reassuringly in this week's episode. Powell, who held managerial posts at NPR, PBS and CBS, and Host Llewellyn King take a look back at public broadcasting and offer a way forward.

Weather forecasting is crucial for utility companies, impacting everything from demand forecasting to storm readiness and renewable energy integration. David Naylor, who heads Rayburn Electric Cooperative, which serves the Dallas metroplex, and Hansi Singh, a scientist and co-founder and CEO of Planette, Inc., a weather forecaster, join Host Llewellyn King and Co-host Adam Clayton Powell III.