127. Rajiv Shah Never Wastes a Crisis

After Haiti’s devastating earthquake, Rajiv Shah headed the largest humanitarian effort in U.S. history. As chief economist of the Gates Foundation he tried to immunize almost a billion children. He tells Steve why it’s important to take big gambles, follow the data, and own up to your mistakes.

• SOURCE:
  • Rajiv Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation.

• RESOURCES:
  • Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens, by Rajiv Shah (2023).
  • "The Root of Haiti’s Misery: Reparations to Enslavers," by Catherine Porter, Constant Méheut, Matt Apuzzo, and Selam Gebrekidan (The New York Times, 2022).
  • "Testing Is Our Way Out," by Paul Romer and Rajiv Shah (The Wall Street Journal, 2020).
  • "How to Get Millions of People to Take Coronavirus Tests and Stay Home if They're Positive," by Steven Levitt, Paul Romer, and Jeff Severts (USA Today, 2020).
  • "Haiti In Ruins: A Look Back At The 2010 Earthquake," by The Picture Show (2020).
  • "Vaccine for a Global Childhood Illness Passes Last Big Hurdle," (The New York Times, 1997).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Dambisa Moyo Says Foreign Aid Can’t Solve Problems, but Maybe Corporations Can," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
  • "Moncef Slaoui: 'It’s Unfortunate That It Takes a Crisis for This to Happen,'" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2020).