Writing
Six hundred conversations and counting. Two books. A decade of poems.
Since 2007, Vikas has interviewed more than 600 of the world's most influential people for Thought Economics: 20 Nobel laureates, heads of state, and leading figures in business, science and the arts. The journal is read in more than 120 countries, and its archive is held by the University of Salford Library.
Selected interviews · Thought Economics, since 2007
Twenty conversations to start with.
Through Thought Economics, Vikas has interviewed figures including Sir Richard Branson, Melinda French Gates, Maya Angelou, Usain Bolt, Daniel Kahneman and Jane Goodall, exploring how they think, what drives them and what their experiences can teach us.
- Sir Richard BransonFounder of VirginRead the interview
- Melinda French GatesPhilanthropist and founder of Pivotal VenturesRead the interview
- Maya AngelouPoet, author and civil rights activistRead the interview
- Usain BoltOlympic sprint championRead the interview
- Daniel KahnemanPsychologist and Nobel laureate in economicsRead the interview
- Jane GoodallPrimatologist and founder of the Jane Goodall InstituteRead the interview
- Sir James DysonInventor and founder of DysonRead the interview
- Ratan TataIndustrialist and former Tata Group chairmanRead the interview
- Steve BallmerFormer Microsoft CEORead the interview
- Sheryl SandbergBusiness leader and founder of LeanIn.OrgRead the interview
- Mark CubanEntrepreneur, investor and television personalityRead the interview
- Matthew McConaugheyAcademy Award-winning actor and authorRead the interview
- Buzz AldrinApollo 11 astronautRead the interview
- Shaquille O’NealBasketball champion and entrepreneurRead the interview
- Hans ZimmerFilm composer and music producerRead the interview
- Muhammad YunusNobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of Grameen BankRead the interview
- Yuval Noah HarariHistorian and author of SapiensRead the interview
- Malcolm GladwellAuthor of The Tipping Point, Blink and OutliersRead the interview
- Arianna HuffingtonCo-founder of The Huffington Post and authorRead the interview
- Bear GryllsAdventurer, television presenter and authorRead the interview
Business leaders & founders
- Stephen A. SchwarzmanCo-founder, BlackstoneRead the interview
- N. R. Narayana MurthyCo-founder, InfosysRead the interview
- Marc RandolphCo-founder and founding CEO, NetflixRead the interview
- Whitney Wolfe HerdFounder, BumbleRead the interview
- Jack WelchFormer CEO, General ElectricRead the interview
- Robin LiCo-founder, BaiduRead the interview
- Jerry YangCo-founder, Yahoo!Read the interview
- Steve CaseCo-founder, AOLRead the interview
- Stewart ButterfieldCo-founder, SlackRead the interview
- Ed CatmullCo-founder, PixarRead the interview
- Kiran Mazumdar-ShawFounder, BioconRead the interview
- Tory BurchFounder, Tory BurchRead the interview
- Kevin O’LearyEntrepreneur, investor and Shark Tank personalityRead the interview
Interviewees, not endorsements. Some links open a themed article containing several interviews. Every interviewee, on Thought Economics.
600+
in-depth interviews
20
Nobel laureates
120+
countries of readership
Latest conversations
New on Thought Economics.
7 September 2026
A Conversation with Jesper Kouthoofd, Founder of Teenage Engineering, on Design, Play and Why Every Product Is an Illusion
In this interview, I spoke to Jesper Kouthoofd, founder of Teenage Engineering, about why he still refuses the title of designer, why he thinks every product is an illusion and the honest move is to…
Read the interview
4 September 2026
We Are Not Alone: A Conversation with Jonathan Caplan KC on the Evidence for UAPs, Non-Human Intelligence and Why It Was Never Disclosed
In this interview, I spoke to Jonathan Caplan KC, one of Britain’s most senior barristers, who has spent 50 years applying the evidentiary standards of the criminal Bar to unidentified anomalous…
Read the interview
2 September 2026
Can Optimism Survive Bad News? Michelle Gielan on Resilient Optimism, Burnout and Becoming a Positive Deviant
In this interview, I spoke to Michelle Gielan, positive psychology researcher, former CBS Morning News anchor and author of Resilient Optimism, about why optimism is a set of behaviours rather than a…
Read the interview
26 August 2026
From the Minefields of Kuwait to Sandhurst: A Conversation with Major General Arthur Denaro on War, Leadership and Peace
In this interview, I spoke to Major General Arthur Denaro, who led his regiment through sixteen kilometres of minefield to liberate Kuwait and was Chief of Staff of UN forces in Bosnia. We discussed…
Read the interview
25 August 2026
When Do Leaders Actually Matter? A Conversation with Jared Diamond on Discretion, Timing and the Hamlet Test
In this interview, I spoke to Professor Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, about when individual leaders genuinely change outcomes. We discussed discretion,…
Read the interview
20 August 2026
The Crisis Diplomat: A Conversation with Ian Proud on the 2004 Tsunami, Institutional Failure and Living with Trauma
In this interview, I spoke to Ian Proud, a former British diplomat and Foreign Office crisis expert, who drove nine hours into the 2004 tsunami zone on Boxing Day. We discussed what a state owes its…
Read the interview
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Books
In print.
Michael O'Mara Books, 2021
Thought Economics
Conversations with the Remarkable People Shaping Our Century
A distillation of interviews with nearly 100 of the most influential, interesting and impactful people in the world.
Buy on Amazon
2017
3650
Poems
An intimate collection of poems spanning ten years, on love, loneliness, faith, nature, humanity, death, identity and technology.
Buy on Amazon“Stimulating, intelligent and enjoyable discussions of the most important issues of our day.”
“From entrepreneurs to athletes, and world leaders to entertainers, this is a fascinating collection of interviews with some of the world's most influential individuals.”
Poetry
Beyond the boardroom.
Vikas is a poet whose work explores love, loneliness, faith, nature, humanity, death, identity and technology. 443 poems, spanning more than a decade, are collected here.