What practical advice could leaders and managers implement right now in their organizations to increase productivity and decrease friction between disparate elements of their companies? How can managers reexamine legacy processes that have remained in place simply because they were, and reimagine them for the specific challenges of today’s business environment? Donald C. Kieffer is a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the founder of consulting firm ShiftGear Work Design, and the aut...
Nov 13, 2025•54 min•Ep. 597
What if you could find a strategy for gaming the systems all around to work more in your favor? If you did, then things like coveted restaurant reservations, scarce concert tickets, landing the dream job, or even admission to top colleges could become much more in reach. Judd Kessler is a professor of business economics and public policy at the Wharton School and the author of Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want . The book acts as a guide for not only part...
Nov 11, 2025•58 min•Ep. 596
What strange thing happens when a neuron is left alone? Are there ways to moderate stress and anxiety, and even channel them into productive and helpful signals there to assist you in making good decisions? How can you develop initiative, and what has to change in today’s education landscape to accomplish this? Angus Fletcher is a Professor of Story Science at Project Narrative of Ohio State University. He also teaches screenwriting and is a screenwriter, as well as the author of several books i...
Nov 07, 2025•56 min•Ep. 595
How has rational choice theory come to dominate both our understanding of the world and our view of good judgment, and why is that a problem? What are the benefits of remembering to zoom in and out to get a better picture of problems and solutions? Why do we prefer reducing things to numbers even if that abstracts useful levels of data? Barry Schwartz is a professor Emeritus at Swarthmore College and the prolific author of many books. His latest titles include Choose Wisely: Rationality, Ethics,...
Nov 03, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 594
For organizations that are tempted to throw out the classic organizational management handbook in favor of a structure with no managers – think again. Nicolai J. Foss is a professor of strategy at Copenhagen Business School and the co-author of Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company . The book pushes back on the notion that the key to breakthrough success for organizations is through flat, leaderless structures akin to today’s trendy startups, and makes the case for why companie...
Oct 30, 2025•40 min•Ep. 593
How have politics changed from the Bill Clinton era to that of Donald Trump? How have identity politics diverted attention from economic issues, and how have the educated elites derailed activism? Fredrik deBoer is the author of both fiction and nonfiction works, including The Mind Reels , The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice , and How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement . Greg and Fredrik discuss the American political left and why the left-right di...
Oct 27, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 592
How will AI change the size, shape, and structure of companies? Where will we see new leverage points in the AI economy? How does AI move beyond task automation and into the coordination of tasks? How does a manager keep from becoming just a cog in a system of automations? Sangeet Paul Choudary is a senior fellow at UC Berkeley, a consultant, and the author and co-author of several books. His latest work is titled, Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks the Knowledge Economy . Greg and Sangeet dis...
Oct 23, 2025•52 min•Ep. 591
How does code, like language, shape the way we see the world? How can we rediscover enchantment in our technology?? How can we determine the half-life of knowledge as we continue to learn and discover new things? Samuel Arbesman is a scientist in residence at Lux Capital, a fellow at Case Western School of Management, and the author of three books, The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World—and Shapes Our Future , Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehen...
Oct 20, 2025•56 min•Ep. 590
Is it time to overhaul the way we study and teach ancient history? Are we limiting our ability to understand fully how the past informs the present in ways like inequality if we keep these disciplines siloed? Walter Scheidel is a professor of humanities, classics, and history at Stanford University. He’s the author of more than a dozen books, including What Is Ancient History? and The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century. Walter and...
Oct 15, 2025•56 min•Ep. 589
When it comes to the concept of The West, its scope and principles have been criticized both contemporarily and historically. How did the West emerge as a coherent concept, and what has it meant over time? Georgios Varouxakis is a Professor in the History of Political Thought at Queen Mary University of London, where he is also the Co-director of the Centre for the Study of the History of Political Thought. He is also the author of several books, and his newest book is titled The West: The Histo...
Oct 07, 2025•48 min•Ep. 588
Why is historical context so important when looking at topics from the past? What role does a broader appreciation of the humanities play in understanding contemporary issues? Darrin M. McMahon is a professor of history at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. Recent titles include Equality: The History of an Elusive Idea and the Divine Fury: A History of Genius book. Greg and Darrin discuss Darrin’s intellectual journey and his approach to longue durée intellectual history. Darrin ...
Oct 02, 2025•48 min•Ep. 587
There is a misconception that liberalism lacks a vision of ‘the good life,’ but liberalism is more ingrained in society than often recognized. It affects media, education, and personal beliefs of those in society both directly and indirectly. Alexandre Lefebvre is a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney in Australia, and the author and editor of several books. His latest work is Liberalism as a Way of Life . Greg and Alex discuss the historical and philosophical critiq...
Sep 23, 2025•53 min•Ep. 586
Business leaders need to be versatile, critical thinkers capable of questioning the status quo while integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation. How does this align with the principles today’s business school graduates are learning and will they be capable of integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation in the future? Scott D. Anthony is a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Epic Disruptions:...
Sep 18, 2025•45 min•Ep. 585
How did political and social pressures affect public health decisions during the pandemic, and how did media reporting amplify those effects? What is the cost when experts detach from evidence-based medicine for policymaking and defer decisions to those without the proper expertise? David Zweig is a journalist, novelist, and musician. He is also the author of An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions . Greg and David discuss David’s journey from working o...
Sep 15, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 584
How does literature enrich our understanding of ourselves and of others, in ways that STEM fields and other forms of knowledge cannot? What is contained within the language of reading that you don't encounter with other art forms like painting or film? Arnold Weinstein is a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at Brown University and the author of several books. His latest two publications are The Lives of Literature: Reading, Teaching, Knowing and Morning, Noon, and Night: Finding the M...
Sep 11, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 583
What does the female body itself contribute to the story of human survival and development, and how does it differ from other animals and specifically, other mammals? These contributions include but are not limited unique attributes for gestation, childbirth, and lactation. Cat Bohannon is a researcher, scholar, and the author of the book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution . Greg and Cat discuss the significant role of the female body in human evolution. Cat shar...
Sep 08, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 582
How does status infiltrate all of our decisions, and how is status allocated in a networked society? Toby E. Stuart is a professor at the Haas School at UC Berkeley and also the author of the new book called Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World . Greg and Toby discuss the influence of social status on various aspects of life, including consumer behavior, resource allocation, and decision-making. They explore the concept of the Matthew Effect (how statu...
Sep 05, 2025•59 min•Ep. 581
Many business leaders craft successful companies but only a few elevate that to the level of a masterpiece. What is it about some companies and leaders that allows them to achieve this status? How does the vision of ‘the good life’ differ across corporations, large and small? Charles Spinosa is a management consultant and the author of several books. His latest book is called Leadership as Masterpiece Creation: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the Humanities about Moral Risk-Taking. Greg and...
Sep 03, 2025•53 min•Ep. 580
It’s not hard to find critics of capitalism in the current moment but this has always been true: as long as we have had capitalism we have had critics of capitalism. What are the recurring themes of these critiques and how have they helped to shape the economics profession and capitalism itself? John Cassidy is an author at the New Yorker magazine and also the author of several books. His most recent two are Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI and How Mark...
Aug 28, 2025•56 min•Ep. 579
How can lawmakers and public servants design policies which benefit from continuous learning?? How will government offices that learn and adopt agile practices be able to achieve better outcomes for the public? Jennifer Pahlka is a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, founder of Code For America, and the founder of the US Digital Services under the Obama administration. She is also the author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better . Greg and J...
Aug 25, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 578
What does it mean to ‘know’ something, and what does it mean specifically when stated by a scientist? What is the role of debate in driving scientific progress, and how does progress get built on the bones of science that we later find to be incorrect? James C. Zimring is a professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia and also an author. His latest books are What Science Is and How It Really Works and Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thin...
Aug 18, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 577
For much of America’s history, the promise of greater economic opportunities in new places was an intrinsic idea to the country’s identity. But in recent decades, it’s become increasingly difficult to pack up and chase that American dream. Why? Yoni Appelbaum is a deputy executive editor at The Atlantic and the author of the book, Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity which explores the significant decline in geographic and economic mobility in the...
Aug 14, 2025•57 min•Ep. 576
The evolving economic landscape makes institutional reforms in areas like finance, planning, and public infrastructure, a necessity. AI is capable of causing an economic shakeup similar to the transition from horses to steam, with far-reaching ramifications throughout the world’s economies. Jonathan Haskel is a professor of economics at Imperial College Business School, in London, and also the author of a few books, including Capitalism without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy and Res...
Aug 11, 2025•56 min•Ep. 575
What can be gained from looking back now at the pandemic response during COVID? What would a “postmortem” tell us about how policies were designed and how scientific discussions played out? Stephen Macedo is a professor of politics at Princeton University, as well as at the University Center for Human Values, and the author of several books including Greg and Stephen discuss the decision-making flaws during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of robust debate, the role of public health experts, and ...
Aug 08, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 574
What historical forces have led to the rise of demagogues in the past and how to they compare to the increasing power of populism today? What are the benefits and drawbacks of empowering leaders from outside politics during these times? Eric A. Posner is a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and also the author of several books, including The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump , Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democra...
Aug 06, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 573
How has the landscape of legal education shifted, and what ramifications has that already started having? How do politics factor into judicial appointments more than ever before, and how did we get to this point? Ilya L. Shapiro is a senior fellow and the director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute. He’s also the author of several books, including Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites and Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court...
Aug 04, 2025•56 min•Ep. 572
What if there was a system that could decide who to consult for a decision in real time? How would the diversity of the available sources affect the information gathered? Scott E. Page is a professor of management, social science, and complexity at the University of Michigan. He’s also the author of several books including The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You, Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life , and The Difference: How ...
Jul 31, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 571
Liberalism is a term that has been adopted and adapted in different ways over the centuries of its use. How do we need to rethink and communicate the core principles of liberalism in the face of modern challenges? Helena Rosenblatt is a professor in the History, French, and Political Science departments at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). She is also the author of several books, including The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century ...
Jul 25, 2025•46 min•Ep. 570
Technology is now involved in all industries, and there is a need for a critical and ethical approach to technology's development and integration into daily life for the betterment of all. Greg M. Epstein is the Humanist chaplain at both Harvard and MIT, and also the author of the books Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World's Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation and Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe. In this episode, Greg discu...
Jul 24, 2025•53 min•Ep. 569
What is the relationship between philosophy, rhetoric and law? What can we still learn from ancient Greek and Roman philosophers like Socrates and the Socratics? How is thinking like a martial art? Ward Farnsworth is a professor of law and former dean of the School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He’s also the author of numerous books that explore law, philosophy, and rhetoric including, The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law , The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's ...
Jul 18, 2025•58 min•Ep. 568
