Listen: Interview with Tim Cook on the BBC podcast “Dua Lipa: At Your Service”

A few days ago a new episode of the BBC podcast “Dua Lipa: At Your Service” was released. Apple CEO Tim Cook was invited as a guest. The topics discussed included Tim Cook's childhood and youth, his career at Apple and the value creation there under his leadership. Other topics included environmental and climate protection, equal rights in the workplace, child labor in cobalt mines, artificial intelligence and, last but not least, its regulation. The conversation lasts around 45 minutes and can be accessed via various platforms.

Contents of the Tim Cook interview by Dua Lipa

The introduction was made by the discovery that Apple is worth several billion US dollars. Building on this, the question was asked what a day in Tim Cook's life is like. He replied that he gets up between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. and first reads emails from Apple customers and employees. From this he can then see where improvements are necessary. Then you do an hour of exercise before going to the office. The idea “1 + 1 = 3”, which was brought up a few times in the conversation, was expressed, which means that individual ideas are worth more in total than just viewed on their own - so teamwork is very important at Apple.

Afterwards it was about how Tim Cook grew up and ended up at Apple. He says that the news of Martin Luther King's assassination moved him at the age of 8. He also talks about his first jobs as a newspaper delivery person and burger cook in a snack bar, as well as how he grew up grounded as the child of a “blue-collar family” (mother was a saleswoman in a pharmacy, father worked in a shipyard). At the same time, he also wanted more for himself and his life. Later I went to college, to IBM and to graduate school at Duke. In 1998, shortly after Steve Jobs returned, Tim Cook started at Apple.

Later on, there was also a lot of discussion about equality and equal opportunities in companies. Tim Cook says he allocates part of his wealth to efforts to make progress in these areas. In addition, because of his background and his experiences, it is important to him that there is equal rights for everyone - no matter who it is: women, people of color, LGBTQ people and so on. He also talks about the “glass ceiling” (metaphor for the barrier through which you can see the executive floor but never reach it) and that it has been shattered at Apple. And that’s how it should be in all companies.

Summarizing the entire conversation here would go beyond the scope, but here are a few impressions in brief: excessive smartphone use (especially among younger people) is well known and the “Screen Time” settings are supposed to be the answer to this, and it is Apple's definition of "Carbon Neutral" explained, Apple's efforts to combat child labor in mines are addressed, AI is described as part of Apple's software, generative AI is a new trend and to be regulated (Tim Cook assumes it will be in the next 12th century). The first guidelines will be given by 18 months), and of course the Vision Pro headset was also subtly advertised.

Tim Cook's book recommendations

At the end of the conversation, Tim Cook was asked not only about his top 5 US national parks, but also about books that have influenced him. He named these titles:

• Who Troubles the Nightingale, Harper Lee: Bound / Paperback / Graphic Novel
• Shoe Dog, Phil Knight: Bound / Kindle
• Now before I go, Paul Kalanithi: Paperback / Kindle
• I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai: Paperback / Kindle
• Biographies of Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy and other civil rights personalities

Listen to Dua Lipa: At Your Service with Tim Cook as a guest

You can listen to the podcast on all common platforms and watch the conversation on YouTube. Here you can find the individual links to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube:

• Apple podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.