Open any newspaper or website, and there are tons of people decrying the end of this or the decline of that. And even with the pandemic just now falling into our recent rearview mirror, it's actually hard to think of a better time for humanity. So why does Gregg Easterbrook think this is such a great time to be alive? Gregg is a prolific journalist and author who has written a number of books. Including It's Better Than It Looks: Reasons For Optimism In An Age Of Fear, Sonic Boom: Globalization ...
Jan 12, 2022•56 min•Ep. 87
Sending economic assistance from western, developed countries to poorer, developing countries has always been a virtuous and noble pursuit. But the ethics behind foreign aid can get messy. Bill Easterly has built an entire career analyzing the pros and cons within the field of development economics. He is a professor of economics at NYU, and also the co-director of their Development Research Institute. Bill has written a number of books on the topic as well, including The Tyranny Of Experts, The...
Jan 10, 2022•52 min•Ep. 86
The intersection of public health and data science can be controversial. How much do we value human life? Can we ever put a dollar sign on it, and what factors into that sum? These questions and more are tackled in today's episode with Howard Friedman. Howard Friedman teaches at Columbia University at the School of Public Health and The Data Science Institute. He is also the author of Ultimate Price: The Value We Place On Life. Listen as he and Greg discuss the morality of cases like the 9/11 co...
Jan 07, 2022•56 min•Ep. 85
One of the key insights of behavioral economics is that people don't do what they know they should do;. That information by itself is just not enough to move the needle. But Kristen Berman is trying to change that, by doing what Greg calls “Pracademics” - putting academics into practice. Kristen Berman is the co-founder of Irrational Labs with Dan Ariely, the co-founder of the Common Sense Labs for Financial Wellness at Duke University, and was also involved in founding Google's Behavioral Scien...
Jan 05, 2022•46 min•Ep. 84
Economists, policy makers, and business decision makers all agree on efficiency as a goal, with more better than less and who could object? Well, it all depends, of course on how the objectives are formulated and what you are missing. That's the idea behind Roger Martin’s latest book When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession With Economic Efficiency. Roger Martin is the former dean and current emeritus professor of strategy at the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, and the...
Dec 31, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 83
Workers have more rights than maybe they've ever harnessed as a collective, and it's shaping the way leaders lead. We're starting to see the research bear out that when we move away from leading by power, into leading with emotional intelligence, that this is actually a way to build a more successful company, a more successful team, and it's a way to be more successful as a person. Scott Shute is the Head of the Compassion and Mindfulness Programs at LinkedIn, and the author of The Full Body Yes...
Dec 27, 2021•51 min•Ep. 82
Think of a big decision you've made lately. The final call was most likely yours, but how did external factors weigh in? Did you talk it over with a spouse or a close friend, think about your upbringing, your economic status, or how the final outcome might affect your future and your community? So much about our social networks affects our decision making process. Matthew Jackson is a professor of economics at Stanford University, and he also wrote the book The Human Network: How Your Social Pos...
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 81
AI & machine learning have been at the center of moral debate for decades now. Scientists and lay people alike know, or assume, that there will come a day where machines will not just figure out how to accomplish goals, but will also figure out what those goals are. That is the central question of our guests latest book, The Alignment Problem. Brian Christian is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley working with human compatible AI and the Citrus Foundation. He is also known for co-authoring Alg...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 80
While many on the left are calling for radical change and the fall of capitalism, Philippe Aghion says the answer is to create better capitalism by understanding and to harness the power of creative destruction. That's the focus of his latest book, The Power Of Creative Destruction: Economic Upheaval And The Wealth Of Nations. Philippe is a French economist who is a Professor at College de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics. Listen as we dive into the theories behind The Power of...
Dec 10, 2021•46 min•Ep. 79
You may not be a hot shot Instagram influencer, but you probably have more power to influence other people's decisions than you think. But on the flip side, some people wrestling with social anxieties and nerves, are overestimating how much other people think about their actions and judge them. So why are people so unaware of their actual place in other people’s worlds, and how can we find the sweet spot in which to interact with the people around us? Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist, prof...
Dec 08, 2021•52 min•Ep. 78
It's been said that the most important invention of modern times is the corporation. And Colin Mayer agrees, saying the corporation is a “remarkable invention for bringing together the capacity and capability of mankind to work together to create phenomenal outcomes.” Colin is a professor at the Saïd School at the University of Oxford, and was also the Dean between 2006 and 2011, helping to get the school off the ground. Colin sits down with Greg to discuss why the history of the corporation is ...
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 77
A combination of structure, constraints and trade, those are the essential ingredients of an engineering mindset. But those traits have benefits and applications to many other scenarios outside the world of engineering. So why aren't they being used? Guru Madhavan is the Senior Scholar and Director of Programs at the National Academy of Engineering, as well as the author of Applied Minds: How Engineers Think , and the upcoming Making Better Choices. Listen as Guru and Greg discuss what makes the...
Dec 03, 2021•49 min•Ep. 76
Physical intelligence is the most primitive and essential form of cognition. We rely on it to perform basic actions (changing a light bulb) to complicated activities (navigating unknown terrain). Renowned neuroscientist, author, and mountaineer, Scott Grafton brilliantly describes the action-oriented brain's design and workings through the lens of behavioral neurology and cognitive neuroscience, demonstrating how physical intelligence is inherent in all of us. His book of the same name explains ...
Dec 01, 2021•47 min•Ep. 75
The innovation economy begins with discovery and culminates in speculation. For the last 250 years, economic growth has been driven by a consistent process of trial and error. Drawing on his theorist-practitioner experience, Bill Janeway provides an accessible platform to discuss the dynamics of the innovation economy. In this episode, he shares some of his personal reflections from his forty years in venture capital, laying out what he calls the “Three-Player Game” concept, saying this is neces...
Nov 29, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 74
New social movements, beliefs, behaviors, and technologies often struggle to gain traction. Some diseases, such as Covid-19, spread quickly and created a world-changing pandemic. Could the idea of viral diseases be applied in spreading innovations and beneficial behaviors? Damon Centola talks about his best-selling books How Behavior Spreads and Change: How to Make Big Things Happen. In this episode, he shares the findings of over a decade's worth of original research on social networks and soci...
Nov 26, 2021•56 min•Ep. 73
The same technology that lets your daughter call up her favorite songs in Alexa is also used for government surveillance, racial profiling, and the creation of deep fake YouTube videos from troll farms. While neural networks make our lives easier, they also create ethical tangles and questions. New York Times Silicon Valley reporter, Cade Metz tackles these moral disparities through hundreds of exclusive interviews in his book, Genius Makers. In this episode, Cade talks about factors that shaped...
Nov 24, 2021•45 min•Ep. 72
A determined leader is often motivated by the desire to take risks and move forward. Michael D. Watkins, the transition guru and author stresses the importance of succeeding in your next career change. Success during the adjustment phase will propel you to more challenging roles. Failure will irreparably harm your career and organization. These are the main points of his best-selling books The First 90 Days and Master Your Next Move. Michael emphasizes the factors that affect an executive’s tran...
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 71
Entrepreneurs are drawn to stories of successful start-ups, but in reality, creating a business from scratch is more grueling than they anticipate. Today, Rand Fishkin tackles the mythology surrounding tech start-ups, exposing the ups and downs of start-up life and shares his hard-won lessons. Rand is the co-founder and CEO of audience research software start-up, SparkToro. His book Lost & Founder openly discusses frustrations and low points as an entrepreneur, ultimately leading to a transp...
Nov 19, 2021•49 min•Ep. 70
Can a company with no profits be valued at a multibillion-dollar level? Why do some start-ups receive large investments while others do not? Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor, and experienced investor, argues that corporate value comes from the power of stories, enticing even cautious investors to take risks. He emphasizes the importance of integrating compelling narratives with strong data-driven models and accounts to deliver and sustain value. Aswath talks about case studies like Uber, Ly...
Nov 17, 2021•52 min•Ep. 69
Certain smells can repel or attract, bring to mind emotionally charged memories or guide our behavior unconsciously. While some find the smell of some cheeses revolting, others will appreciate its creamy and delicious taste. So just how does the olfactory system work, and can the loss of sense of smell assist in diagnosing diseases? In this episode, cognitive scientist and empirical philosopher Ann Barwich shares what she has learned from experts in neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and perfu...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 68
Innovation demands different skill sets, methods, and leadership approaches from business owners. The challenge for leaders is to find the balance between three innovation areas: preservation, destruction, and creation. These concepts are central to the innovation framework designed by business strategy coach Vijay Govindarajan. In his book The Three-Box Solution , Vijay teaches a framework for allocating energy, time, and resources for driving innovation while delivering current goals. We will ...
Nov 12, 2021•55 min•Ep. 67
Colleges and universities used to be among the nation's most prestigious institutions. Recently, parents, as well as the public, have become more concerned about whether or not college is even worth the expense. Are universities still the true bastions of open inquiry? Have liberal arts become obsolete in the 21st century? According to conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks, liberal education is the antidote to this crisis. In this episode, he explains that the true purpose...
Nov 10, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 66
Researchers and academics tend to focus on what people have in common, instead of looking at individual differences and nuances, which often drive decisions and judgements. In his latest book, Olivier Sibony, professor of strategy and award-winning author, showed the detrimental effects of noise in many fields, like judicial systems, hospitals, recruitment, human resource departments, and machine learning. Olivier emphasizes that wherever there is judgement, there is noise. Yet, individuals and ...
Nov 03, 2021•54 min•Ep. 65
Although knowledge is valuable, it is limited. In contrast, our imagination is limitless, allowing us to rethink problems and create solutions. Our imagination plays a critical role in finding new opportunities, rethinking our businesses, and finding growth pathways. However, many companies are losing the ability to imagine. How can organizations harness this skill and keep it alive? Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, draws on the experience and insights of CEOs from differe...
Oct 29, 2021•50 min•Ep. 64
Innovation is all about shifting focus. Most successful companies usually begin innovating by looking within--finding stale patterns of operating and new ways to streamlining operations. Using a list of more than 2,000 successful companies and organizations, world-renowned speaker and innovation scientist, Larry Keeley used a proprietary algorithm to determine ten meaningful categories of innovation. His book Ten Types Of Innovation shows us data, insights, and patterns on innovation to help com...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 63
Textiles have played a significant role in our history and culture, starting with the Stone Age and continuing to the present. As award-winning journalist Virginia Postrel tells us, thread and fabric played are catalysts in revolutionizing human labor and innovations that economic historians often overlook. The Fabric Of Civilization is Virginia's book on textile history that stitches our aesthetics, history, and cultural identity. It focuses on textiles as among the oldest, most essential, and ...
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 62
For the past decade, Michael Wade, professor of innovation and strategy at IMD Business School, and his co-authors studied the thought process of inventors, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, and artists. The product of this collaboration is the book A.L.I.E.N. Thinking: The Unconventional Path To Breakthrough Ideas. Wade and his colleagues learned that these people’s out-of-the-world ideas helped them to make leaps and bounds in discovering game-changing solutions. In this episode, Michael tal...
Oct 22, 2021•50 min•Ep. 61
Experimental research has been a perennial practice in the natural sciences, but social scientists have taken it up in recent decades as well. Randomized trials have been used to design policies aimed at increasing educational attainment, lowering crime rates, enhancing employment rates, and improving living standards among the poor. In his book, Randomistas , Andrew Leigh, an economist turned politician, tells the stories of radical researchers who uncovered what works and what doesn’t using ex...
Oct 18, 2021•40 min•Ep. 60
To understand how humans react and adapt to economic change, we need to study how these people who live in harsh environments survived these conditions. From war zones to natural disasters and failed states, to aging societies and those who are challenged by technological advancement. In his book, Extreme Economies , economist, and journalist Richard Davies features stories of communities that experienced seismic shock or have been violently changed in some way. In this episode, he gives an acco...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 59
Most billion-dollar startups are founded by non-technical individuals— one of the many insights that Ali Tamaseb notes in his recent book. Ali spent countless hours manually collecting what may be the biggest data set ever on startups — comparing billion-dollar startups with those that failed to succeed. In his book Super Founders , Ali brings together 30,000 data points on nearly every factor that influences a new business: number of competitors, market size, the founder's age, academic perform...
Oct 13, 2021•51 min•Ep. 58
