May 8th, 2026
Mariana Mazzucato Thinks We Need More Moonshots | Odd Lots
Today's guest Mariana Mazzucato is one of our most requested. Mazzucato, who is the director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, specializes in the political economy of technological development and public sector investment. In our conversation, recorded in Madrid while we are at the Bloomberg CityLab conference, she explains her concept of the "mission economy," her definition of state capacity, how to prevent top talent from fleeing to the private sector, and whether consultants or governments should be blamed for inefficiencies and civic failures. It's a wide-ranging interview, one that covers everything from the initial public financing of Silicon Valley algorithms to the history of moonshots.



