Gladwell said that U.S. News & World Report has completely messed up college rankings. A fresher and more accurate assessment? To actually place several of the historically Black colleges and universities in the top 10. Could you imagine the consequences? Dr. Michael Lomax and the United Negro College Fund couldn’t agree more. And Dr. Danielle Moss and Gerald Johnson (the most senior Black engineer at General Motors) told you that resetting our norms on emotional and cultural education for ALL students is critical to the success of Black students.

Cuban noted that blockchain will bring about more substantive change than the advent of the internet. It is just beginning. You cannot be a high-performing individual over the next few years if you do not understand and use crypto. EVERYTHING that relies on trust is about to be disrupted — banking, work, marriages and more. 

More than 1 million people from over 50 countries joined us across multiple platforms. We so appreciated everyone joining us across multiple time zones, even as OZY Fest went into the wee hours of the morning -- like Thulani K. from South Africa who said “It’s 2:43AM in SA and it’s been worth staying up!” or Kat Cunning’s superfan Miranda in Belgium who waited for their incredible performance and said “can’t wait to hear this powerful voice live at some point,” or Arun in India who said that “Katty Kay’s conversation with Al Sharpton was one of the most important I’ve heard on race.”

The answers will surprise you — from Professor Eddie Glaude Jr. and Valerie Jarrett to S.E. Cupp, who said that the lack of big ideas from the Republican Party might be the biggest threat to our democracy. Meanwhile, Rep. Maxine Waters shared her thoughts on America 2.0, and Fareed Zakaria and former San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz shared big thoughts on the future of capitalism.

This year’s OZY Fest featured our FIRST dating segment hosted by Big Freedia (we won’t spoil the result). Maz Jobrani and Tig Notaro graced the OZY Fest Main Stage, bringing laughter all across the world. And finally, we ended the evening with live performances from Kat Cunning and Sevyn Streeter — whose powerful performances brought Day One of OZY Fest to a perfect end.