12 things we heard during the Hopkins Bloomberg Center’s first year
Since its official opening in the fall of 2023, the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center has hosted heads of state, members of Congress, Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalists, and more.
Here are some of the most memorable quotes from the past 12 months:
Public Health
“Cancer touches us all, unfortunately. And that’s true in the United States. And it’s true in Kenya, and it’s true around the world. We’ve come together as communities, as really a global community, to stop it.”
— First Lady Jill Biden
Biden and her Kenyan counterpart Rachel Ruto visited the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in May 2024 to meet with Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center team members and hear about their work to better prevent, detect, and treat the disease. The researchers described their efforts to prevent cancer—ranging from diet interventions to new vaccines.
“Protecting health is a team sport. We really need to be thinking collectively about the health delivery system and public health.”
— Mandy Cohen, CDC director
In October 2023, the 20th director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention described the ways the COVID-19 pandemic had changed the agency, including prompting it to take steps to communicate information to the public faster and to work more closely and collaboratively with partners.
Democracy
“We’re just really making sure that we can prepare people the best we can. We’re trying to give voters confidence in the process. That’s what we work on every day so that they understand we’re going to have a secure, accurate, and fair election.”
— Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of Georgia, which could play a critical role in the upcoming presidential election, talked with veteran tech reporter Kara Swisher about steps his state is taking to ensure election integrity.
“We could make folks familiar with the fact that [deepfake AI videos] exist. Here’s what it looks like, smells like, tastes like, so that if it does emerge during the actual election season, they won’t be surprised by it.”
— Adrian Fontes, Arizona Secretary of State
Fontes, the Secretary of State of Arizona, explained why he shared an AI-generated video of himself sharing election disinformation at a training session for election officials, vendors, law enforcement members, and officials from local, state, and federal agencies.
“Grassroots political movements in this country really can work. They often take decades to work, but they can change our society in profound ways.”
— David Leonhardt, New York Times columnist
Leonhardt spoke with Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels about his book, Ours Was the Shining Future, which posits that the American Dream is in decline. Still, he argued, reform for the better is possible.
Science and Technology
“This technology’s incredible, and it will allow us to do just amazing, amazing things. I’m very excited for this potential in science, discovery, in education, in particular in health care.”
— Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI
Murati, then the chief technology officer of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, spoke with longtime tech reporter Kara Swisher in June about her vision for the technology.
“When you look down, you see continents. You can pinpoint where countries are, but you can’t see borders between countries. You realize that we’re all just humans living on the same planet, and if we could learn to get along a little bit better and cooperate a little more, our challenges would disappear because they are self-made.”
— Andreas Mogensen, Danish astronaut
Mogensen, the first Danish citizen in space, reflected on how his experience on the International Space Station changed his view of Earth.
Climate and Environment
“In Kenya, we remain committed in the belief that enduring economic prosperity is founded on environmental health and vibrant natural ecosystems.”
— Kenyan President William Ruto
Ruto, a biologist with a PhD in plant ecology, spoke about his country’s effort to combat climate change while stimulating economic growth.
“When you look at the Amazon basin, the forest asset is not only the key to existence in the region, but it is key for the existence of humanity globally.”
— Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali
Ali argued that protecting the Amazon rainforest, which spans 3 million square miles, is not just an environmental imperative but a security one, as it’s become a key trafficking hub for cocaine, gold, and timber.
Foreign Policy
“One era is ending, a new one is beginning, and the decisions that we make now will shape the future for decades to come.”
— Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Blinken declared the Cold War Era “over” and referred to the current moment as an “inflection point” in his Bloomberg Center remarks in September 2023.
“Let’s not lose sight of what truly matters—the unique value of transatlantic unity and cooperation. Let’s not lose faith in the values of the democratic world, and let’s not fail those who hope and dream to be part of it.”
— Radoslaw Sikorski, minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Poland
Sikorski argued the relationship between Europe and the United States is a critical bulwark to rising authoritarianism in Russia and elsewhere.
“If there’s one lesson I’ve taken from my first six weeks as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, it’s that the security landscape can change in an instant. We may not have much warning when the next fight begins. We need to be ready.”
— Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Brown was sworn in as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff on Oct. 1, 2023, just days before Hamas launched its attack on Israel, causing the latter to invade Gaza. In his first public remarks, he urged the U.S. Armed Forces to embrace innovation.