All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions

Latest Episodes:

Ep70 "The Science Behind Why We Don’t Just Say What We Mean" with Psychologist Steven Pinker - Part 2 Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

In the final part of this two-part interview, Steven Pinker, an experimental psychologist and Harvard professor, again joins hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen to discuss his new book When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life.

In this episode, Jonathan and Jules break down more revelatory examples from Steven’s book that demonstrate how common knowledge is a first order explanatory variable for how humans behave. They also explore the role common knowledge plays in financial markets, particularly when it comes to speculative trading, and examine common knowledge in an academic freedom sense, highlighting the delicate balance between promoting open debate and safeguarding societal norms.

Find All Else Equal on the web:

https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep69 "The Science Behind Why We Don’t Just Say What We Mean" with Psychologist Steven Pinker - Part 1 Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

Everyday, we participate in seemingly arbitrary but essential choices for society to function. We all agree on what side of the road to drive on, to use paper currency, or to speak the same language. These kinds of choices make up a group’s common knowledge – things that are made blatantly and publicly known. But what about the things that are known, but unspoken? What is the purpose of innuendos, euphemisms, and veiling the true meaning of our words in society?

Steven Pinker, an experimental psychologist and Harvard professor, joins hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen to discuss his new book When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life.

In this two-part conversation, they explore the psychological and social significance of common knowledge in human interactions, highlighting its complex role in both fostering cooperation and permitting social taboos. They also discuss the intersection of common knowledge with economic behaviors like speculative trading, and the balance between maintaining social norms and fostering open debate in academic settings.

Find All Else Equal on the web:

https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through

University FM

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rerun: Ep63 “What Explains the Growth of Private Equity? A Different Perspective” with Ludovic Phalippou Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

This holiday week, All Else Equal is looking back at its episode on the growth of private equity with Ludovic Phalippou.

Private markets have taken off in the last couple decades, with more investors opting to invest in private equity and debt instead of public markets. But what caused that shift? And are the private markets really a better bet right now, or is there more to the story?

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen sit down with private markets expert Ludovic Phalippou, a professor of financial economics at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and author of Private Equity Laid Bare.

In the conversation, they explore what private markets can provide asset owners that public markets can not, the potential tradeoffs of investing in private equity, how performance in private and public markets is measured, and if the return on investment is really worth the high fees that come along with private equity firms.

Submit your questions to the show here: https://bit.ly/AllElseEqual

Find All Else Equal on the web: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/business-podcasts/all-else-equal-making-better-decisions

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business and is produced by

University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep68 “Is It Better to Overestimate or Underestimate Your Enemies?” with H.R. McMaster Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

Historically, the U.S. has had a habit of overestimating the capabilities of its enemies. Why? Is this an intentional security strategy? Or does the U.S. need to change the way it gathers enemy intelligence?

Former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster gives hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen a crash course on military intelligence and national security advising.

The conversation covers why the overestimation of enemies happens, including historical examples of misjudgments, the role of proxies in modern conflicts, strategic considerations involving major powers like China, and the threat of information warfare.

Find All Else Equal on the web:

https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep67 Real Talk on Rent Control: Its Pros and Cons Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

As the 2025 municipal elections approach, the New York City mayoral race has garnered national buzz, with one issue particularly capturing attention: rent control.

On this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen explore and unpack the best possible reasons for rent control, and why oftentimes – those reasons still come up short.

They contextualize their discussion with historical examples from Chicago and San Francisco, analyze the arguments for rent control, and explain how despite rent control’s aim to bring more balance to the tenant-landlord dynamic, its negative repercussions on housing supply might outweigh the benefits.

Find All Else Equal on the web:

https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep66 When (and When Not) To Listen to Investment Advice Oct 15, 2025

Show notes

Solicited or not, advice on where to invest your money seems to be around every corner these days. But determining whether the advice is credible and worth listening to can be challenging.

On this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen put sources of investment advice to the test and provide listeners with some guidance on how to judge the credibility of someone’s stock picks. They also discuss private investing and the potential risk of getting in on the ground floor as an angel investor.

Find All Else Equal on the web:

https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep65 "Will Future AI Systems Operate Like The Human Brain? It’s Complicated” with Jeff Hawkins Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

With growing concerns over whether or not AI will take away jobs and eventually become superior to human intelligence, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at the human brain and discover how AI will always have its limitations.

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen sit down with Jeff Hawkins, a neuroscientist and computer scientist, whose book A Thousand Brains challenges the way we think about intelligence and how the brain works.

Jonathan, Jules, and Jeff discuss the fundamentals of how the human brain operates and how it differs from the way current AI models work. They also dive into the cutting-edge innovations happening in the world of AI and whether future versions of the technology could one day emulate the human brain more closely.

Find All Else Equal on the web:

https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep64 "Why Higher Education Needs a Massive Overhaul: Are the Kids Even Learning Anything?" with Bryan Caplan Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

While a higher education may help your career in terms of income, how much of what you’re taught in a classroom actually prepares you for the work you do on the job?

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen chat with economist Bryan Caplan about his book, “The Case Against Education.” In the book, Bryan lays out why education these days is less about what you’re learning, and more about signaling to future employers that you’ll be a good hire.

Jonathan, Jules, and Bryan discuss the pitfalls of a modern liberal arts education, historical shifts that got us here, and what could be a more effective way of teaching.

Find All Else Equal on the web: https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rerun: Ep53 “The Truth About Inflation and Price Caps: Learn From Argentina” with Veronica Rappoport Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

It’s the final episode of the summer season and with some key mayoral races coming up this fall, we’re revisiting our conversation on inflation with Veronica Rappoport, a former official at the Central Bank of Argentina who had a front row seat to the country’s inflation crisis.

Over the last couple U.S. election cycles, one policy idea to get inflation under control that is routinely floated is price caps. But history has shown time and time again that price caps do anything but reduce inflation. So why do policymakers still want to try it?

In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with guest Veronica Rappoport, associate professor at London School of Economics and former 2nd Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Argentina. Veronica served as the deputy governor during a key period of high inflation for Argentina.

She chats with Jonathan and Jules about the circumstances that can lead to inflation rates as high as the ones Argentina has seen in the last 50 years, how band-aids like price caps can in fact make inflation significantly worse in the long run, and what lessons countries like the U.S. can take from Argentina’s case.

Find All Else Equal on the web:
https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep63 “What Explains the Growth of Private Equity? A Different Perspective” with Ludovic Phalippou Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

Find All Else Equal on the web:
https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected