What if the things we sideline in the pursuit of success—care, connection, and personal struggles—are what could actually lead us to clarity and purpose? In a culture that celebrates achievement and autonomy, have we overlooked the connective tissue that quietly holds our lives and systems together? Could personal transformation also be the key to transforming how we lead, live, and rebuild the world around us?

Find out from Anne-Marie Slaughter, exclusively in conversation with Dr. Hitendra Wadhwa on Intersections Podcast.

Anne-Marie Slaughter is a global leader, educator, foreign policy expert, public intellectual and the CEO of New America, a “think and action tank” dedicated to realizing the promise of America in an era of rapid technological and social change. In 2009, Hillary Clinton appointed her as the first woman Director of Policy Planning in the U.S. State Department. She has been a professor at University of Chicago Law School, Harvard Law School and Princeton University, and has written and lectured widely on very relevant topics, including global network design and leadership, gender equality and elevating the value of care for both men and women, and on American renewal. Anne-Marie is a regular columnist for Project Syndicate, a contributing editor to the Financial Times, appears regularly on CNN, BBC, NPR, and PBS, and author of several books including The Idea that Is America, Unfinished Business, and Renewal: From Crisis to Transformation in Our Lives, Work, and Politics.

In this episode, Anne-Marie reveals:

- How stepping away from power may bring unexpected clarity about who we are and our purpose in the world

- Why caregiving—long dismissed as peripheral—may hold more influence than we’ve been taught to believe

- A deeper path of renewal that can reshape not only individuals but also the systems within which we live and lead