The Minor Consult

As technology and media become increasingly intertwined, Dean Lloyd Minor welcomes Silicon Valley insider and The Information CEO Jessica Lessin. They discuss cultivating sources in the nation’s most dynamic companies, the greatest challenges facing tech companies, and building trust with news consumers who are increasingly confronted with misinformation. 

They also examine how tech must grapple with data privacy, how women can break barriers in business, and how the pandemic is redefining corporate culture and forging new avenues of growth and success.

Following years of record challenges and uncertainty in the airline industry, Dean Lloyd Minor welcomes Oscar Muñoz, former CEO and former executive chairman of United Airlines. They discuss the importance of leading by listening, sticking to values of empathy and open-mindedness, and growing diversity in corporate America. Over the course of their conversation, they explore the power of building trust with employees, providing honest guidance for the next generation, and how a personal health crisis can lead to meaningful revelations about life at work and at home.

With climate change a clear and present threat to society and human health, Dean Lloyd Minor welcomes NASA’s Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor Dr. Kate Calvin to examine the relationship between human development and our global resources. Together, they break down climate change’s human impact, explore NASA’s role in studying the planet, and identify the traits and strategies that enable leaders to overcome large-scale challenges.

Welcome to The Minor Consult, a new podcast series hosted by Dr. Lloyd Minor, Dean of the Stanford School of Medicine. Over the past few years of constant crisis, there is one thing we’ve all come to learn: leadership matters.  
Each episode of The Minor Consult will explore what it takes to lead effectively, especially in times of upheaval and uncertainty. In this introduction, Dr. Minor shares his vision for the podcast and a preview of the compelling discussions to come with leaders and experts from diverse fields. 

Stanford School of Medicine Dean Lloyd Minor is joined by former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on this episode of The Minor Consult. 

Their discussion explores how Rice handled an array of complex challenges throughout her career. From confronting racial strife to rising through government ranks and leading the nation in the aftermath of 9/11, what wisdom guided her? And what advice would she give to other leaders seeking to advance the scale and impact of their organizations? 

Facing an era when science is on trial and attacked like never before, Dean Lloyd Minor speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist and author Carl Zimmer. 

Their discussion explores how leaders can address declining public trust in science and the medical establishment, the challenge of successfully communicating complex and critical scientific information, and how to bolster healthy dialogue between governments, scientific institutions, and the general public. 

Dean Lloyd Minor sits down in the studio with the son of Steve Jobs, an accomplished visionary in his own right, Emerson Collective Managing Director of Health Reed Jobs.  

They discuss how to bring new therapies and diagnostics to patient care, leverage philanthropy and funding to tackle threats from cancer to COVID-19, and build a biomedical ecosystem capable of deploying new technologies to solve the future’s most pressing problems.

With the movie awards season in full swing, Dean Lloyd Minor brings on Jennifer Todd, a top film producer of not only many American classics but several Oscars ceremonies. 

In their discussion, they look at the many challenges the entertainment industry has faced during the pandemic, how the industry is reinventing itself, and how to handle a crisis during a live event (for instance, when award presenters go wildly off script). They also discuss strategies for building highly effective and diverse teams. 

Reflecting on the watershed events in health care of the past few years, Dean Lloyd Minor welcomes Betsy Nabel, the EVP for Strategy at ModeX Therapeutics and former President of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. 

They delve into lessons learned from the response to COVID-19 and examine what it takes to lead in public health during a once-in-a-generation crisis. Throughout their discussion, they examine core tenets of impactful leadership in health care, which can be applied in countless other sectors. 

In this episode, Dean Lloyd Minor is joined by eminent historian John Barry, a well-researched expert on two of our nation’s greatest crises: the Flu Pandemic of 1918 and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. 

They serve as direct parallels to our present-day challenges of COVID and climate change. How did leaders approach these disasters back then? And what historical lessons can we employ to effectively lead on these issues?