In 2015 at the United Nations, world leaders adopted 17 goals aimed at reducing poverty, inequality, and other global ills by 2030. Such goals have long been championed by philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates. So in 2017 the Gates Foundation launched Goalkeepers, an initiative to spur action and track progress toward the goals. Its 2018 status report says there have been “mind-blowing improvements in the human condition”—but it also calls for more investment and innovation in fighting poverty lest progress against it stall. I recently sat down with the Gateses for a rare joint interview on the new report, which was released to the public September 18.

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