Chicago Booth Review Podcast

Trumponomics: Will the White House wage war on the Fed? Feb 26, 2025

President Trump has accused the Federal Reserve of causing and failing to stop inflation. Instead, Trump says he will take care of the issue by producing more energy and boosting US manufacturing. Will the next four years see a confrontation between the Fed and the White House? We ask Chicago Booth’s Randy Kroszner—a former member of both the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and the board of the Federal Reserve—if the Fed and the White House are on a collision course.

Trumponomics: Do more tax cuts make sense? Feb 19, 2025

This year will see a lot of Congressional wrangling over tax cuts, as many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire. Do tax cuts actually produce the economic benefits that their proponents claim? In the latest in our Trumponomics series, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Eric Zwick, who is part of team that conducted an extensive study of the 2017 law. Did the tax cuts pay for themselves? And what would he do differently?

Trumponomics: Could Trump’s dealmaking damage the economy? Feb 12, 2025

The first few weeks of the Trump administration have seen the president demonstrate how he approaches negotiations with threats of tariffs, how he closes down government departments without warning, and how what is stated as policy in the morning can be overturned by the afternoon. What effect could all this have on the US economy? To hear more, join the University of Chicago online at 6pm Central Time on February 17 to hear Randy Kroszner address these issues at a Virtual Harper Lecture entitled, “The Trump Administration and the American Economy.”

Trumponomics: Expect higher inflation—with or without tariffs Feb 05, 2025

In the launch episode of a new series about Trumponomics, we address tariffs — the most beautiful word in the dictionary, according to Donald Trump. The US President ran promising to increase duties on all imports. In office he has ordered, and then paused, tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and started a tit-for-tat tariff feud with China. How is all this affecting the US economy? Chicago Booth’s Michael Weber has conducted research that documents how consumers have for months been shopping in anticipation of tariffs being put in place. That looks set to raise inflation, and set the Trump administration on a collision course with the Federal Reserve.

How to make the best of layoffs Jan 29, 2025

A conversation in which one person informs another that they’re being laid off is never welcome. But trying to avoid it can lead to poor planning, unclear messaging, anger and frustration. Is there a way to do it better? Chicago Booth’s Lisa Stefanac, an expert in interpersonal dynamics, talks about what’s at stake, how to prepare, and what to do if you find out that you are the person being laid off.

This episode was re-uploaded to fix a technical issue.

Do other people make us more happy, or less? Jan 22, 2025

Humans are social animals. Being with other people can make us happy, but it can also make us unhappy, depending on how we interact and think of each other. So do others make us happier, or less happy? Chicago Booth’s Thomas Talhelm has conducted research on how different cultures think about happiness. His findings about rice-growing communities in China shed light on the behavior of social-media users in the West, and raise the question of what we are really measuring when we try to measure people’s happiness.

Trump 2025 vs. Trump 2016 Jan 15, 2025

Are the factors that propelled Donald Trump to power this time around broadly the same as those that helped him win his first election victory in 2015? While the circumstances are different from a decade ago, the secular societal forces that drive support for Trump are also strikingly familiar. Welcome to the Chicago Booth Review podcast, where we bring you groundbreaking academic research in a clear and straightforward way. I’m Hal Weitzman. Today, as we prepare for another Trump inauguration, we’re digging into the CBR archives to revisit a conversation between Chicago Booth’s Luigi Zingales and Amir Sufi about the fundamentals behind Trump’s appeal. The conversation was filmed in May 2016 as part of our Big Question video series, which brings together Booth faculty for an in-depth discussion. We wanted to bring it back because we were struck more by a sense of continuity than change. For some observers, Trump’s re-election was all about economics, chiefly voters’ experience of inflation and their mistrust of globalization. To others, it reflects a general disenchantment with politicians and political institutions. Those are the same phenomena that Zingales and Sufi pinpoint. The discussion also touched on the rise of the far-right across the world, which at the time was still on the margins of politics, but has since taken power in several large democracies.

Should performance reviews be scrapped? Jan 08, 2025

Many of us react to the term “performance review” with a shudder. It’s that awkward periodic conversation in which we have to hear feedback, share our assessments of each other, and, occasionally clash with our colleagues. But do performance reviews have to be like that? We hear from Chicago Booth’s Stacey Kole. Does she think that performance reviews are worth saving, and if so, how can they be revamped?

How to argue for change within an organization Jan 03, 2025

Most of us have found ourselves at some point arguing that the organizations we work in need to change. Change is hard – which is why there’s a multi-billion dollar change-management industry. But what can you do to make the case for change from within? Chicago Booth’s James Janega is a former journalist who now works as a Managing Partner at Growth Innovation Strategy Group and teaches storytelling to MBA students and executives at Booth. He argues that stories can help us make the case for change, regardless of the organization we’re trying to improve.

What do you want to achieve in 2025? Dec 25, 2024

It’s that time when we start to think about what we want to achieve in the coming year. What can you do to make sure that this year you stay motivated and focused on your goals? We ask two experts for advice: Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach, author of Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation, and Wharton’s Katy Milkman, author of How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.

Why Bitcoin will fail Dec 18, 2024

Evangelists of Bitcoin say its strength is the distributed ledger that no one institution controls. But as it turns out, that makes it open to sabotage, a vulnerability that will prevent it from replacing real currencies. Chicago Booth’s Eric Budish has spent his career thinking about market design and proposing fixes to flaws— work that has earned him the niche title of “the LeBron James of batch auctions.” According to Budish, the cost of securing Bitcoin at a really large scale is too high, and that will always limit its growth.

How to craft a winning startup pitch Dec 11, 2024

Crafting an effective startup pitch is hard. Entrepreneurs have a short amount of time to convey the problem they’re trying to solve, establish the size of the market, cover their business plan, establish their credentials, and come across as likeable and easy to work with. We get advice from Chicago Booth’s James Janega, a former journalist who now works as a Managing Partner at Growth Innovation Strategy Group and teaches storytelling to MBA students and executives at Booth.

How to fix the stock market Dec 04, 2024

In recent decades, stock markets have increasingly been speeding up, with large numbers of high-frequency traders executing trades at speeds up to billionths of a second. Does that reward the most powerful computers at the expense of retail investors? Chicago Booth’s Eric Budish, who argues that the incentives for high-speed trading stem from the flaws in the way financial markets are designed. At the same time, it’s become cumbersome and complicated for institutional investors to execute trades as they would like to. With both challenges in mind, Budish outlines two simple ideas from his research that could transform stock markets for the better.

Does your portfolio need impact investments? Nov 27, 2024

Impact investing aims to serve two purposes: creating both profit and positive social outcomes. But is that possible? Is there always a trade-off between profits and impact? In the second of our two conversations with Chicago Booth’s Priya Parrish—author of the new book The Little Book of Impact Investing: Aligning Profit and Purpose to Change the World—we discuss whether it’s possible to make healthy returns on your investments while pursuing your social goals.

This 100-year-old pattern explains Trump’s victory Nov 20, 2024

Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election took many pundits by surprise. Voters consistently said the economy was their top issue, but even though the US economy is currently the world’s top performer, they nevertheless voted for a change in government. That led many observers to claim that Trump’s supporters had a warped view of the economy, concentrating more on inflation than on growth. Chicago Booth’s Lubos Pastor disagrees. His research suggests that voters knew the economy was growing, and that was, in fact, the very reason why they wanted a change of government. Pastor’s model is relatively simple: when the economy is strong economy, more voters opt for the Republican candidate in elections, while a weak economy favors Democrats. This pattern has held since 1927, regardless of the candidates or the incumbents. The reason has to do with how the economy shapes people’s attitudes to risk, which is also explains another phenomenon: the stock market performs much better under Democratic presidents than under Republicans.

What do we get wrong about impact investing? Nov 13, 2024

Impact investing accounts for more than $1 trillion under management, and is expected to continue growing at a double-digit rate annually for the next decade. It’s attracted a backlash, with activists successfully pushing companies to cut back on their commitment to diversity and inclusion. We hear from Chicago Booth’s Priya Parrish, author of the new book The Little Book of Impact Investing: Aligning Profit and Purpose to Change the World, about what the critics get wrong.

Writing matters. Here's how to get better at it. Nov 06, 2024

Most managers would agree that communication is important, and many would also agree that it’s a skill that many workers are far from mastering. Yet organizations typically spend next to no time training their employees how to improve their writing. Melissa Harris wants to change that. She’s an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth, a former Chicago Tribune journalist, and the co-author of the new book Everybody Needs an Editor: The Essential Guide to Clear and Effective Writing.

Does hybrid work, work? Oct 30, 2024

In September, Amazon announced the end of hybrid work, saying it wanted employees in the office five days a week. To many, it seemed like the end of an era, with management having concluded that hybrid work just doesn’t work for them – even if employees like it. We talk to Chicago Booth’s Mike Gibbs, about what the data tell us about hybrid work, and if we’re heading into a post-hybrid working world.

Is Insider Trading always bad? Oct 23, 2024

In September, Kalshi, a US financial exchange and prediction market, won a legal victory enabling it to let people bet on outcomes such as which party will control Congress after the November elections. Is the return of political betting a good thing, or were regulators right to try to limit it? And do the same concerns about manipulation in political prediction markets apply to the stock market? We hear from Chicago Booth’s John Birge on whether trading on insider information might sometimes be positive.

Must you lose your morals on Wall St? Oct 16, 2024

Michael Lewis’s Liar’s Poker is a frank and ugly behind-the-scenes account of life as a young associate in the world of Wall St finance. The book is 35 years old, but the basic dilemma at its heart – whether follow your conscience or your bank balance—remains pertinent. In this episode, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert reflects on what the book tells us about ourselves and our professional choices. How long can you stay in a poisonous environment before you become part of it?

Does remote work kill productivity? Oct 09, 2024

The COVID 19 pandemic caused perhaps the fastest ever shift in working patterns. One day, many of us were working in offices, the next we were working remotely – and would be for years. What effect did that have on our performance? We talk with Chicago Booth’s Mike Gibbs, an expert on quantitative research, about the consequences of remote work.

Do Data-Privacy Laws Actually Hurt Consumers? Oct 02, 2024

Companies track our every move on the internet, and many people are concerned that their data is being used and misused without their permission. The European Union and 13 US states have passed data privacy laws. Are these rules really helping us and making us safer? In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Jean-Pierre Dube, who argues that data privacy comes with a cost – it can further marginalize low-income consumers and hurt small businesses.

Do companies hire the right CEOs? Sep 25, 2024

Are American companies any good at hiring CEOs? When a company is searching for its next CEO, what skills are they looking for? And are those the same skills that make CEOs successful in the job? We talk with Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan, who’s spent decades analyzing C-suite hiring practices and CEO performance. His research finds that candidates who get hired as CEOs are different from other C-suite executives, but also that hiring practices do not guarantee that the person who wows the hiring committee will succeed in the top job.

Is Leadership a Choice? Sep 18, 2024

We tend to think of leaders in terms of personality types or set ways of behaving. But can you learn to be a better leader? And can you choose when to act like a leader? In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Linda Ginzel, who presents two ideas: first, that we can become better leaders by being diligent about how we learn from our experiences; and second, that we should think of leadership and management as verbs, rather than nouns.

Should Billionaires Pay Higher Fines? Sep 11, 2024

In some countries, fines change according to income, but so far US cities have been reluctant to try it out. Chicago Booth’s Jean Pierre Dube thinks that’s a mistake. He says uniform fines are regressive, don’t act as a deterrent, and that personalized fines could bring in more revenue for cities. So why are US cities so reluctant to do it?

What’s so bad about private equity? Sep 04, 2024

Private equity has a PR problem. If you heard that your company was being taken over by a private-equity firm, you might well start worrying that job cuts would be coming soon and the quality of work would be sacrificed in order to squeeze out more profit. But is that accurate? Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan, an expert on private equity, says that private-equity firms frequently invest and grow companies more effectively than other owners. But does that justify their big fees? And could companies take the same actions without being taken over by private equity?

Is the customer always right? Aug 28, 2024

Is the customer always right? In a world in which all sales are final, some buyers are bound to get duped. But if the customer’s always right, what can retailers do about unreasonable customers? In this episode we hear from Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert looks for a balance between honoring customers and indulging them.

Would you accept a pay-free promotion? Aug 21, 2024

Would you accept a promotion without a pay increase? This episode is part of Business Practice series, where we asked people to script what they would say in a challenging workplace scenario. Chicago Booth’s George Wu analyzes the results.

Hidden fees, drip pricing, and shrinkflation Aug 14, 2024

The US federal government is suing Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation, in part over what it says are excessive or junk fees. One feature of these fees is that they’re hidden – you only find out at the end what the true price is. There’s an irony in the case, says Chicago Booth’s Jean Pierre Dube, since government itself is a keen user of hidden fees. In this episode, we talk to Dube about how retailers use hidden fees to obfuscate prices and avoid transparency. Why do hidden fees work? And what’s the solution?

How can we fix US healthcare? Aug 07, 2024

The US spends a lot more on healthcare than most other high-income countries. But the US doesn’t have universal health coverage, and performs poorly on life expectancy, death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, and maternal and infant mortality. Financial incentives shape the kind of healthcare that patients are offered, from the drugs they’re prescribed to the procedures they receive. So what would it take to fix US healthcare? In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Matt Notowidigdo, in the second of two podcasts about his new book, Better Health Economics: An Introduction for Everyone, co-written with Boston University’s Tal Gross.

The economics of the refugee crisis Jul 31, 2024

In 2022, the number of displaced people in the world surpassed 100 million, according to the UN, meaning that over 1.2 percent of the global population have been forced to leave their homes. The numbers are only likely to grow, as climate change prompts further migration and displacement. In this episode, we bring you the second of two podcasts featuring Chicago Booth Adjunct Assistant Professor Andrew Leon Hanna, author of 25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs, in a discussion about how policymakers should respond to the refugee crisis.

What if your coworker earns more than you? Jul 24, 2024

If you found out that a coworker at the same level as you earned significantly more than you, what would you do? This episode is part of Business Practice series, where we asked people to script what they would say in a challenging workplace scenario. Chicago Booth’s George Wu analyzes the results.

Why is frugality a virtue? Jul 17, 2024

Why is being frugal a virtue? And where exactly do we draw the line between being “frugal” and being “cheap”? In this episode, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert traces the history of frugality from the 18th century to today, explaining why it continues to be relevant as a moral yardstick.

How to navigate leadership “moments of truth” Jul 10, 2024

Many of us face snap decisions in which two of our core values come into conflict. We could get promoted, but only by spending less time with family, or be successful in the short term, but at the expense of long-term sustainability. Chicago Booth’s Lucia Annunzio calls these difficult decisions leadership “moments of truth,” and she advises executives that if they don’t have a plan on how they will make such decisions ahead of time, they might ending up regretting their choices.

Why are refugees more likely to be entrepreneurs? Jul 03, 2024

In the US, 13 percent of refugees become entrepreneurs, compared to 9 percent of Americans born in the US. In this episode we hear from Andrew Leon Hanna, a Chicago Booth Adjunct Assistant Professor whose book 25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs tells the stories of some refugees who started their own ventures. In the first of two podcasts about the book, he explained why he thinks refugees are so much more likely to become entrepreneurs.

How unfairness at work can lead to sabotage Jun 26, 2024

Many of us think that our workplaces are not fair. Managers favor some employees over others, or give some people credit that’s due to someone else. Chicago Booth’s Lucia Annunzio warns that that can lead to resentment and even acts of sabotage. So how important is fairness, and how can you create an environment where people respect and understand decisions, even if they don’t like or agree with them?

Why is US healthcare so expensive? Jun 19, 2024

Nearly 20 percent of Americans have medical debt. A hospital stay in the US on average leads to about $6,000 in unpaid medical bills for the uninsured, and more than $18,000 for about one in ten uninsured patients. Why is US healthcare so expensive? In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Matt Notowidigdo, in the first of two podcasts about his new book, Better Health Economics: An Introduction for Everyone, co-written with Boston University’s Tal Gross.

Is money or marriage the key to happiness? Jun 12, 2024

If you are married, you are statistically much more likely to report being happy than if you’re unmarried. In fact, Chicago Booth’s Sam Peltzman notes that the difference in terms of happiness is the same as either being in the top 10 percent of earners, or the bottom 10 percent. Having said that, his research also shows that the richer you are, the happier you are. In this episode, we talk with him about his research.

How should companies respond to ‘woke capitalism’? Jun 05, 2024

Companies in the US have faced a new kind of pressure in recent years from ‘stakeholder capitalism’ or ‘woke capitalism.’ How should corporations respond? In this episode, we bring you a conversation between Alison Taylor, a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and the author of the author of Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World, and Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert. The conversation was recorded at an event co-sponsored by Chicago Booth Review, Booth’s Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, and the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.

Why AI might not make you more productive May 29, 2024

AI promises to make us all be more productive, so what role does old-fashioned management play? Chicago Booth’s Chad Syverson says management still matters, and even the best technology won’t necessarily improve productivity if the right managers aren’t in place. But what does good management even mean in the age of hybrid work and remote teams?

Raghuram Rajan: your doctor could be in India May 22, 2024

The market for services is global, and many of us are used to having our issues fielded by someone in India. For decades, big companies in the US and Europe have set up global capability centers in India to handle back-office operations. In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan, who sees the future of India’s economy as moving from the back office to the front-of-house. This is the second of our two conversations with Rajan about his new book, Breaking the Mold: India’s Untraveled Path to Prosperity.

David Brooks on how to make others feel valued May 15, 2024

New York Times columnist David Brooks’ latest book, How to Know a Person is about our ability to know others, and to make them feel valued and understood. In this episode, Brooks talks to Chicago Booth’s Nick Epley about how seemingly small, everyday interactions can significantly shape our lives. Their conversation was part of the Think Better series, organized by Chicago Booth’s Roman Family Center for Decision Research.

How to fix a toxic working culture May 08, 2024

Most US companies have a toxic culture, according to Lucia Annunzio, Adjunct Associate Professor of Executive Education at Chicago Booth. The hallmarks are a lack of transparency, short-termism, and top-down leadership. As a result, employees feel micromanaged, stressed, and disengaged. So what can managers do to stop the toxicity and create a healthy work culture?

Can India’s economy break the mold? May 07, 2024

With a population of 1.4 billion, India is the world’s biggest democracy and already one of the world’s leading economies, but it still has huge potential to grow its economy. So how should India grow? And what does the country need to realize the potential of its human capital? In this episode, we speak to Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan, who served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2013 to 2016, about his new book, Breaking the Mold: India’s Untraveled Path to Prosperity. This is the first of two podcasts with Rajan about the book.

Do you really get more conservative as you age? Apr 24, 2024

Political folk wisdom tells us that people become more conservative as they get older. But does the evidence back that up? And is the political divide between older and younger voters getting bigger? In this episode, we speak with Chicago Booth’s Sam Peltzman about his research on political ideology.

How low productivity cost you $25,000 Apr 17, 2024

For the past 20 years, the growth in US productivity has been sluggish at about 1.2%, compared to the 3% pace at which it grew from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. Chicago Booth’s Chad Syverson says that if US productivity hadn’t slowed, the US economy would be bigger to the tune of $25,000 per person. So what’s happening to productivity, and is it finally about to turn the corner?

Does tackling global warming require global reporting rules? Apr 10, 2024

Climate change is a global problem, so it can’t be solved by a limited number of countries acting alone. But can we develop and enforce global rules? In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Christian Leuz, an accounting professor who advocates for companies to report their carbon emissions. This is our second podcast with Leuz about emissions reporting and climate change. We released the first in March under the title, “Could reporting carbon emissions help cut them?”

Is Elon Musk a modern-day Odysseus? Apr 03, 2024

The ancient Greeks thought a lot about strategy, which is why strategists in business, politics, and the military still draw on their wisdom today. So what business lessons can we learn from the heroes of the Iliad and the Odyssey? In this episode, we hear from Chicago Booth’s Greg Bunch, who teaches new venture strategy to MBA students and executives. When he’s advising entrepreneurs, when does he urge them to be more like Agamemnon, who was able to bring people together for a common cause, or Odysseus, known for his strategic mind and his ability to outwit opponents, or Achilles, the most skilled of all warriors? And what characteristics do today’s business leaders share with the legendary leaders of ancient Greece?

Could reporting carbon emissions help cut them? Mar 27, 2024

If you want to lose weight, you first need to know how much you weigh, how many calories you’re eating a day, and how many minutes of exercise you’re getting. Now imagine you post all that information on your social media page and ask your contacts to hold you accountable. Could that same idea help us tackle global warming? In this episode, Chicago Booth’s Christian Leuz says the same transparency that helps regulators and investors understand what businesses are doing financially could help combat the damage they do to the environment.

Why are workers so disengaged? Mar 20, 2024

Most workers in the US say they are feeling angry, anxious, and disengaged from their jobs. Why is that, and what can be done? In this episode, we hear from one of the world’s leading researchers on motivation, Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach, who calls this “a crisis of motivation” whose roots lie in how we work, and how we think about work. The motivation crisis has consequences for both employees and employers. So how can we get ourselves and our teams excited about work again?

What’s wrong with charity? Mar 13, 2024

Some people say that you don’t help the poor by giving them money, but by giving them opportunities to earn money. This is behind the periodic campaigns to limit welfare benefits in order to encourage work. But is a handout necessarily different from a hand-up? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert reflects on how we think about helping the poor and charitable giving. https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/whats-matter-handouts

Would you call out a microaggression? Mar 06, 2024

Would you speak up at work if one colleague said something that unintentionally discriminated against another? And if you did, what would you actually say, and when and how would you say it? In this episode, we continue our Business Practice miniseries, where we ask people to script what they would say in a challenging workplace scenario. Chicago Booth behavioral science professor George Wu analyzes the results.

An economist debunks “Gone with the Wind” Feb 28, 2024

The movie “Gone with the Wind” depicts a genteel, harmonious world torn apart as the old way of life comes to an end. Behind that gentility was the inhumanity of slavery, whose end transformed the economy of the American South. Morally, that was a good thing, but, contrary to the depiction in the movie, was it also positive for the economy? In this episode, we talk to Chicago Booth’s Rick Hornbeck, whose research with Trevon Logan, a professor of economics at The Ohio State University, suggests that emancipation created huge economic value, a boost to the US economy that was even bigger than the introduction of the railroad.

When will the Fed start cutting interest rates? Feb 21, 2024

Inflation in the US has proved remarkably stubborn. The most recent figures show it fell less than expected in January, to 3.1 percent, well above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2 percent. In response, the futures markets slashed their expectations that the Fed will lower interest rates any time soon from its current level of 5.25-5.5 percent. The labor market is still relatively tight, and consumers keep spending. Many observers think a recession is increasingly unlikely, but a soft landing is hardly guaranteed. In this episode, Charles Evans, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago from 2007 to 2023, and Chicago Booth’s Anil Kashyap, discuss how the Fed is thinking about the US economy.

Is it fair to charge people different prices? Feb 14, 2024

We are used to paying different prices for airline tickets, Uber rides, and hotel rooms, but can you imagine a time when all sorts of retailers use data to tailor their marketing and pricing for each individual customer? Does fairness require prices to be equal for everyone, or do certain groups and individuals deserve discounts? In this episode, Chicago Booth’s Jean-Pierre Dubé and EngineBI’s Jon Morris discuss the ethics and practicalities of personalizing pricing.

Why AI may be your best strategist Feb 07, 2024

More than 90 percent of business leaders say their organizations use AI to help manage people, money, or both. But how many companies are using AI to develop strategy? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, Chicago Booth’s Greg Bunch discusses how founders and companies could be making better use of AI to develop, test and operationalize their strategies.

How should you deliver negative feedback? Jan 31, 2024

How would you tell one of your direct reports that their work isn’t good enough? Especially if that person seems blissfully unaware that they are underperforming? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, we’re launching a new podcast miniseries, the audio version of our popular Business Practice column, where we asked people to script what they would say in a challenging workplace scenario, and Chicago Booth behavioral science professor George Wu analyzes the responses.

Would you call out a workplace bully? Jan 24, 2024

Many of us have seen bullying behavior at work. And though we might not like to admit it, many of us have failed to do anything about it. That can reflect the difficult trade-offs that come with calling out bullying: subjecting ourselves and others to scrutiny, completely changing the dynamic between colleagues, and potentially damaging your own career. In this episode, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert reflects on “the precarious relationship between ethics and expediency” when it comes to blowing the whistle on workplace bullying.

A Nobel laureate on the limits of evidence-based policy Jan 17, 2024

In recent years, there’s been a strong push to elevate the use of data in public decision-making by using evidence-based policymaking. Not everyone is enamored of the idea. In a 2019 essay for Chicago Booth Review, Lars Peter Hansen, of Chicago Booth and the University of Chicago, said the notion of evidence-based policymaking was “a misleading portrayal of academic discourse and the advancement of understanding.” In this episode, Hansen and his Chicago Booth and University of Chicago colleague Kevin Murphy to discuss the issue.

Challenge your assumptions, and embrace ambiguity Jan 10, 2024

What’s so scary about uncertainty and ambiguity? Could it be that they’re unnerving because they threaten to upend our understanding of the world? And might letting go of your assumptions help you to navigate through uncertain times? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, Chicago Booth’s Linda Ginzel offers her insights and advice on these critical topics for leaders.

Why a soft landing is so hard Jan 03, 2024

Imagine trying to land a jet on the deck of an aircraft carrier in the middle of a raging storm. That’s how Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan describes the main task this year for the US Federal Reserve as it attempts a soft landing for the US economy. Is it doable? This episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast features the second of our two conversations with Rajan about his recent book, Monetary Policy and Its Unintended Consequences.

How to keep your New Year’s Resolutions Dec 27, 2023

How long do you stick to your New Year’s resolutions? Why is it so hard to keep them going? How can you make 2024 that exceptional year when you actually keep your New Year’s resolutions? In this episode, we get advice from Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach, a professor of behavioral science, and author of the book, Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation.

Steve Jobs' Ghost Haunts Silicon Valley Dec 20, 2023

Streaming services love a good tech startup business story, preferably one featuring a quirky CEO devoid of self-awareness, with an oversized ego and grandiose sense of ambition and purpose, and one finger always resting on the self-destruct button. Hence Super Pumped, the story of Travis Kalanick and Uber, The Dropout, about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, and WeCrashed, the tale of Adam Neumann and WeWork. In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert reads his 2023 essay that saw one common thread between the three series: the echoes of the legendary Steve Jobs.

Who does Raghuram Rajan blame for inflation? Dec 13, 2023

In response to the COVID pandemic, the normally sober US Federal Reserve cut interest rates, issued forward guidance, resumed quantitative easing, and lent trillions of dollars to Wall St, Main St, states and cities. So is the Fed to blame for causing the inflation of recent years? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, discusses the Fed’s role in the US economy and analyzes its response to the pandemic.

How to navigate a volatile world Dec 06, 2023

*This episode was originally released with the incorrect audio. We’ve now updated it with the correct audio.*

COVID 19, the rise of AI, and climate change have made the world more unpredictable. So how should we respond to a VUCA world – one characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review, Hal Weitzman talks to Chicago Booth’s Greg Bunch about how to take advantage of the opportunities VUCA offers.

Find your “gist” and become a better leader Nov 29, 2023

Are you good at identifying the core essence of things? Clearing your head, rising above the day-to-day, and abstracting things to their critical elements could make you a better leader. In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, Chicago Booth’s Linda E. Ginzel, a leadership expert and the author of the book Choosing Leadership, reads her essay “To Lead Effectively, Find Your Core Essence.”

Could you be a successful entrepreneur? Nov 22, 2023

What makes successful entrepreneurs different from the rest of us? Are they more risk-seeking? Do they have better ideas? Or are they just lucky? How do you know if it’s the right time to take the leap into starting a business? What does it really take to launch your own venture? In this episode, we bring you a conversation between three experts on entrepreneurship: Chicago Booth’s Lindsey Lyman, Sean Bisceglia, former CEO of Curion and operating partner at Sterling Partners, and Liz Tilatti, the former cofounder and CEO of ZipFit Denim, who now serves as a mentor to startups.

Are women leaders being set up to fail? Nov 15, 2023

Women are often appointed as leaders when an organization is in crisis, and in many cases, they’re not given the support needed to turn things around—a phenomenon known as the glass cliff. So are women leaders being set up to fail?

How many poor people do you really know? Nov 08, 2023

One of the byproducts of growing inequality is that many wealthier people grow up, live, and work without ever knowing someone who is poor or struggling financially. Do the wealthy have an obligation to know what life is like for those on the lower end of the income spectrum? In this episode, we hear from John Paul Rollert, an adjunct associate professor at Chicago Booth and our in-house ethicist.

Three ways AI can improve decision-making Nov 01, 2023

In the perfect world of economic models, investors make perfectly rational decisions using perfect information and earn the best possible returns. They never get distracted or confused. Of course, in real life it doesn’t always work that way. Investors can get bamboozled by management drivel, or besotted with charismatic founders. What if we could use AI to make better investment decisions? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, we explore how researchers are using machine-learning models to improve how investors allocate their funds.

What are we learning when we’re on social media? Oct 25, 2023

Many of us have observed how social media shapes or warps our behavior. Some people are more willing to get into disagreements or show off more. The rest of us see these behaviors and can assume that that’s just how other people behave, even though in reality algorithms may be directing us to the most controversial or explosive content. In this episode, Jeff Cockrell, editor of the Chicago Booth Review website, meets Chicago Booth’s Joshua Jackson to discuss his research on the effects of social media on “social learning.”

Why are the very rich getting even richer? Oct 18, 2023

For decades, income inequality has been on the rise around the world. Is that mainly because those at the very top are getting paid more, or are they increasingly passively collecting the income produced by their accumulated wealth? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, we ask what makes the rich so rich, with Chicago Booth’s Luigi Zingales and Eric Zwick, and the University of California at Berkeley’s Gabriel Zucman.

Meet the man who gave America no-frills air travel Oct 11, 2023

Ben Baldanza ran Spirit Airlines from 2006 to 2016, and transformed it into a ultra low-cost carrier, abandoning all frills and charging for any extras. In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, he debates Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert, one of our adjunct professors, who had just written an article entitled, “A business school professor studies the world’s worst airline.”

Are You Responsible for Your ‘Passive’ Investments? Oct 04, 2023

Thanks to the growth of index funds, more and more of us own passive investments. To what extent are we responsible for what goes into those index funds? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert asks if there really is such a thing as a truly “passive” investment.

Break up Big Tech? Sep 27, 2023

Regulators have trained their sights on Big Tech companies. Many Americans think Big Tech should be more tightly regulated, and politicians across the aisle agree. But what exactly should be done? In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, we explore three possible options: break up the biggest companies, regulate them more forcefully, or wait and see.

Is the Startup World Really Like ‘Super Pumped’? Sep 20, 2023

The Showtime series Super Pumped told the story of the rise of Uber in a swirl of excess and intrigue. But many startups seem to be run by charismatic CEOs with a big vision, which sometimes turns out to be nothing but an illusion fueled by investor cash. In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, we present a conversation about startup culture with New York Times reporter Mike Isaac, whose book inspired the TV series, and two experts on entrepreneurship, Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan and Starr Marcello.

Does poverty make you behave differently? Sep 13, 2023

How does the experience of poverty shape decision-making? Research suggests that, rather than bad decisions leading to poverty, being poor can lead to some poorer decisions. At the same time, research also indicates that the stark financial choices faced by poor people can actually make them better at assessing the trade-offs involved in some decisions.

Has capitalism moved on from 'American Psycho'? Sep 06, 2023

Stakeholder capitalism is the idea that business should be about more than just making money. That seems a world away from the brash financial types of Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel ‘American Psycho,’ or the 1987 movie ‘Wall Street.’ But in this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert asks how much we have really moved on, and reflects on the continuing relevance of Easton Ellis’s novel.

How do you develop leadership skills? Aug 30, 2023

Airport bookstores are full of volumes claiming to reveal the secrets of effective leadership, and yet business leaders often don’t seem to be getting any better at actually leading. Some people seem to be born leaders, but many executives really struggle with exercising authority, connecting with, and motivating their workforces, and many ultimately fail to do so. In this episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast we present a discussion from 2017 how leaders can work on their leadership skills featuring, when we invited Chicago Booth’s Harry Davis, George Wu, and Nancy Tennant.

Why do we say less when a Black child goes missing? Aug 23, 2023

It’s no revelation that the language we use often says more about us than whatever it’s describing. But what about the number of words? The more we’re surprised by something, the more we’re likely to say about it, and that can reveal all sorts of prejudices that we might not be aware of. In this episode, we chat to Ayelet Fishbach, a professor of behavioral science at Chicago Booth, about her recent paper on “surprised elaboration.”

Why did McKinsey’s former CEO go to jail? Aug 16, 2023

Rajat Gupta was one of America’s most successful Indian-born businessmen. In 1994, he became McKinsey’s youngest chief executive and the first who had been born outside of the US. Duing his nine-year leadership, McKinsey’s revenues grew from $1.5 billion to $3.4 billion, its number of consultants went from 3,300 to 7,700, and from having 58 offices in 24 countries, it expanded to 81 offices in 44 countries. But in 2010, Gupta was charged with insider trading, a crime for which he was convicted in 2012, and for which he spent two years in jail. Gupta told his side of the story in his 2019 book Mind Without Fear. In this episode, we bring you audio from 2019, when Gupta spoke to John Paul Rollert, an adjunct associate professor of behavioral science, and a columnist for Chicago Booth Review.

What’s the best way to motivate yourself? Aug 09, 2023

Most of us find it hard to achieve our goals. So how can we set better goals and follow through on them? We put that question to two experts on motivation, Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach and the University of Pennsylvania’s Katy Milkman.

Can social networks explain our politics? Aug 02, 2023

How carefully do you tend your professional network? How does your network shape your ideas and your behavior? Understanding network theory can both help you become more successful professionally, and to explain political and sociological trends such as polarization, nationalism, and anti-globalization.

How is WFH shaping the job market? Jul 26, 2023

As hybrid work becomes increasingly common, organizations and managers are trying to come to grips with the challenges of a partly remote workforce. We consider how hybrid work will shape the labor market with three experts in the theory and practice of hybrid work: Chicago Booth’s Steve Davis and Mike Gibbs, and the University of Chicago’s Melina Hale.

What should the uberrich do with their money? Jul 19, 2023

What should the uber wealthy do with their money? How can they leave a lasting legacy? And what responsibilities do they have to society at large? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, Booth’s John Paul Rollert reflects on the role of those at the very top of the 1 percent.

Is wealth inequality overstated? Jul 12, 2023

Many economists agree that inequality has risen in recent decades, but that’s where the agreement ends. Measuring the trend is contentious, and it’s more than just a methodological squabble. How severe one sees the problem informs the policies proposed, from no change to a host of new taxes aimed at correcting the imbalance. In this special episode of the Chicago Booth Review podcast, we present a conversation between two economists who take very different views on inequality: Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan and UC Berkeley’s Emmanuel Saez.

How irrational are we? Jul 06, 2023

Academic models often built on the assumption of how rational utility-maximising individuals would behave. But as behavioral scientists have long pointed out, real people don’t actually behave that way. Does that mean that we behave irrationally, and if so why? Or is our behavior actually more rational than it may appear? In this special episode, we present Chicago Booth’s Richard Thaler, an economics Nobel laureate, in conversation with Harvard’s Steven Pinker.

What explains the volatility in financial markets? Jun 28, 2023

Do stock prices reflect all publicly available information? Are they entirely a reflection of the fundamental values of their respective companies? Or is there something else that helps to explain episodes of surprisingly high volatility, from market-wide plunges to the sudden surges of meme stocks? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, we explore the inelastic markets hypothesis, which suggests that fund flows and investor demand play an important role in market behavior.

Are AI startups worth the investment? Jun 21, 2023

The buzz around artificial intelligence has led to a surfeit of funding for A.I. startups—and, consequently, less funding to go around for other young companies. Is the hype around this technology creating a bubble? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, Hal Weitzman speaks with a panel of experts to explore what underlies the valuations of A.I. startups, and what those valuations mean for entrepreneurs and investors more broadly.

How can we restore trust In democracy? Jun 14, 2023

The loss of faith in free markets that followed the 2007–10 financial crisis was followed up by a number of political developments that suggested the ascendency of populism and a more skeptical attitude toward democracy among many people. What can be done to protect democracy from this erosion of trust? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, we feature a conversation, held at Chicago Booth’s London campus, between Booth’s Raghuram G. Rajan and Martin Wolf of the Financial Times, in which they discuss the health of democracy, why it has come under pressure, and why the middle class is crucial to preserving it.

Are You Self-Interested? Or Just Selfish? Jun 07, 2023

Individuals acting in their own self-interest are, according to classical economics, an important part of a productive, efficient economy. And yet, selfishness is among the personality traits best known for impeding healthy human relationships. How do we separate the two concepts? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, Booth’s John Paul Rollert explores how we define the line between them, and why that line matters.

What’s Wrong with Little White Lies? May 31, 2023

Lying is wrong, right? And yet, almost everyone lies sometimes, and most of us see lying as not only acceptable but preferable in some situations. How does context affect the importance of the truth? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, we examine the findings of research into how lying is perceived.

Who Is Fueling America’s Debt Binge? May 24, 2023

Total household debt in the United States is in the neighborhood of $17 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Who’s funding that debt? One theory is that ultrawealthy Americans are, through their excess savings, and that the result is a destabilizing cycle of inequality. This episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast looks at the research behind this argument and what this dynamic could mean for the US economy.

Should We Care If Google Is a Monopoly? May 17, 2023

Facebook and Google are each facing antitrust scrutiny in the United States, and they have come under the gaze of European regulators as well. But most people don’t pay money to ei-ther company for the services they provide, so can Facebook and Google really be said to have monopolies? And if they do, does it matter? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Pod-cast, we revisit a debate between Booth’s Luigi Zingales and George Mason’s Tyler Cowen about the price of the tech giants’ dominance.

Does Social Media Make Companies Behave Better? May 10, 2023

When a business’s customers object to its conduct, they generally have two options: exit (vote with their wallets and cut ties with the company) and voice (boycott, protest, or otherwise raise awareness of their complaint). Social media has changed the calculus behind this choice for both individuals and companies. On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, Booth’s John Paul Rollert considers the impact of this change and how the relative appeal of exit and voice have evolved over time.

Do We Trust AI to Make the Right Decisions? May 04, 2023

Algorithms are everywhere. They curate our music playlists, guide our online shopping—and, increasingly, dominate the news. But while most of us have accepted the idea of algorithms making, or helping make, some of the mundane decisions in our day-to-day lives, when do we prefer human discretion to the inscrutable judgment of A.I.? And how do we keep algorithms, some of which are tasked with making predictions that are far from mundane, from exacerbating existing problems of bias and inequality? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, we explore questions about the role of A.I. in society.

Are You Shopping Irrationally? Apr 26, 2023

Many of us have a tendency to attach labels to the money flowing into and out of our hands—“wages,” “windfall,” “bills,” “leisure,” and so on—and to treat the money differently depending on where it came from or how we’re using it. In behavioral economics this is called mental accounting, and it can lead to some irrational personal-finance choices. On this episode, the Chicago Booth Review Podcast looks at how researchers are mapping the mental connections we’re making between various expenses, and how those research insights can help consumers and marketers make better decisions.

Are Great CEOs Born or Made? Apr 19, 2023

What are the qualities of a good CEO? What differentiates CEOs from other executives? How do companies seek them out, and should those recruiting practices adapt as corporate America seeks to improve diversity at its highest levels? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan and a trio of experts in executive search discuss the business world’s preeminent position with host Hal Weitzman.

What Are the Limits of Capitalism? Apr 12, 2023

What is within the power of free markets? What can capitalism do for society, what can’t it do, and what should it do? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, Booth’s John Paul Rollert explores how many people came to have an unshakeable faith in capitalism’s broad ability to solve nearly any problem, while the experience of others has left them skeptical. In the era after “the end of history,” capitalism’s defenders need to reckon earnestly with a series of questions about what the system may leave unresolved, he says.

Is the Tax Code Beyond Fixing? Apr 05, 2023

It may be in the nature of taxation that it should suffer a bad public image—but US law, with its convoluted tax code, doesn’t help make it any more palatable. Why is it so complicated, particularly when simplifying it is one of the rare ideas that enjoys bipartisan support? And apart from making it more straightforward, how else might lawmakers improve it? This episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast examines three CBR articles exploring research around taxation from different angles.

Who Is In the 0.01 Percent—And How Did They Get So Rich? Mar 29, 2023

Much has been said and written about the wealth concentrated in the highest-earning 1 percent of US households. But wealth and income are also similarly concentrated within that small slice of the US economy, with the 1 percent’s 1 percent—that is, the .01 percent—far outpacing the rest of that elite group in terms of income and wealth share, according to some economists. Who makes up this small fraction of households, how rich are they, and how did they end up with so much wealth? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, host Hal Weitzman revisits a CBR feature probing the contours of wealth and income inequality in the US.

Why is Everyone So Bad at Communicating? (And How Can We All Get Better?) Mar 22, 2023

Good communication is widely recognized as a cornerstone of high-functioning organizations—and yet, it can be hard to achieve consistently for many businesses and other groups. How and why do we fall short at conveying our messages to others, and what can we do to fix it? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, host Hal Weitzman revisits a conversation he had with three behavioral scientists—Booth’s Nicholas Epley and Ayelet Fishbach, and UCLA’s Heather M. Caruso, who was then at Booth—about the roots of and solutions to workplace miscommunication.

Are You a Sellout? Should You Care? Mar 15, 2023

What does it mean to sell out? What should we make of the tradeoffs we accept between our personal aspirations and professional successes? At what point do such tradeoffs become ethically problematic? On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, columnist and Booth adjunct associate professor John Paul Rollert considers what makes someone a sellout—and whether being one really matters.

Is the Price Right? Two Nobel Laureates Debate How Markets Work Mar 06, 2023

Are prices in financial markets fair and accurate? Or do they reflect human biases? These questions, and variations on them, represent one of the most divisive topics in finance: just how efficient markets really are. To explore this subject at the highest level, on this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast we revisit a conversation from 2016 with two of Booth’s Nobel laureates in economics: Eugene F. Fama and Richard H. Thaler.

Does the Gender Gap Begin at Home? Mar 06, 2023

The gender pay gap in the United States—wherein women earn about 82 percent of what men do—has been both well-documented and stubbornly durable. Although there’s no single explanation for the gap, economics research is demonstrating that some of its roots lie well outside the workplace, in family dynamics, choices about educational investment, and similar areas. How is the gender gap defined by these forces? And what can we do to narrow it?

On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, we explore these questions with three articles investigating the economics of gender and professional outcomes.

What Can the 1930s Tell Us about the Coming Climate Migration? Mar 06, 2023

Climate change appears set to kick off a massive human upheaval as changing sea levels, weather patterns, and other forces alter the places we live. How will policy makers respond to this population movement? Who will be moving, how will they be received in their new homes, and what impact will they have there? For clues, we can look to an earlier period of migration: that of the 1930s Dust Bowl era in the United States.

On this episode of the Chicago Booth Review Podcast, we turn to the research of Booth’s Richard Hornbeck to understand how Dust Bowl migrants differed from other migrants of the time, and what that could tell us about migration induced by climate change in the 21st century.

Welcome to the Chicago Booth Review Podcast Mar 01, 2023

The Chicago Booth Review Podcast is the audio companion to CBR’s coverage of the latest academic research in business, policy, and markets. Each week we dig into CBR articles and videos to examine a different topic in depth, from inflation to artificial intelligence. Join host and CBR editor-in-chief Hal Weitzman for groundbreaking research, explained in a clear and straightforward way.

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