You have kids growing up in some of the worst circumstances financially, living in some of the worst ghettos, and they succeed. They succeed because an adult figure, typically a mother, maybe a grandmother, nourishes the kid, supports the kid, protects the kid, encourages the kid to succeed. It's as if the environment never happened.

Self-control, openness, the ability to engage with others, to plan and to persist - these are the attributes that get people in the door and on the job, and lead to productive lives.

I remember sitting there on my father's couch or my mother's couch, listening to this lecture about how there were two groups and we had to be separated. We've come a long way from this kind of open racism. And I think it's wonderful.

The scientific study of labor economics provided the opportunity for me to unite theory with evidence my lifetime intellectual passion.

I'm very fortunate. I have a wonderful family, lots of hobbies and athletic pursuits. I always wanted to have a very well-rounded life.

Because I was very big and she was very small, my mother had a horrible birth when I was born. So she always said: 'I'm never having any more kids!'

At the core of the Magnolia brand is the desire to make homes beautiful but with a focus on family and practicality. We want to create spaces that families want to gather in.

I was lucky enough to be a child during the renaissance of Australian children's literature, when people like Ivan Southall, Colin Thiele, Lilith Norman and Wrightson were pumping out hugely inspiring stuff.