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Is Business Broken?
Conversations about the role of business in society, brought to you by the Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute for Business, Markets & Society at BU Questrom School of Business.
Episodes
- Is Business Broken?
How Do We Prove What We Know?
Generative Artificial Intelligence can now draft a paper, solve a complex math problem, construct a deck, and polish a cover letter in seconds. But when AI…
- Is Business Broken?
Is the Gig Economy Changing the Rules of Work?
More than 70 million Americans now do some form of freelance or gig work. For many, the appeal is flexibility: the freedom to choose when, where, and how much…
- Is Business Broken?
Is Employee Surveillance a Productivity Solution, or a Trust Problem?
In the age of remote and hybrid work, one question has taken on new urgency: how do you measure productivity when you can’t see it? From AI-powered engineering…
- Is Business Broken?
Beyond Corporate Sustainability: Can the Free Market Be Environmentally Responsible?
We've watched companies wrap themselves in green branding, issue elaborate corporate sustainability reports, and promise a future where capitalism and…
- Is Business Broken?
Beyond Corporate Sustainability: When Did Sustainability Become Sustainability Inc?
Individual companies don't operate in a vacuum. They're part of industries, supply chains, financial markets, and a much larger system. So in this bigger…
- Is Business Broken?
Beyond Corporate Sustainability: Can Corporations Solve Climate Change?
In 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report confirming what many scientists already knew: that human activities are driving…
- Is Business Broken?
What transforms an idea into an economy?
Where does innovation begin? What are the critical factors driving innovation today and tomorrow? And what happens when federal funding gets shaky, the IPO…
- Is Business Broken?
Does the Future of Sustainability Lie in the Shipping Industry?
Ocean shipping carries close to 90% of global trade, and it accounts for about 3% of global emissions. The International Maritime Organization has set…
- Is Business Broken?
Can Private Equity Be a Force for Good?
We are living through a massive migration of wealth. More and more capital is leaving public markets and flowing into private equity. There's even a growing…
- Is Business Broken?
Vote for "Is Business Broken?" in the Webby Awards!
Exciting news! Is Business Broken? has been nominated for a Webby Award in the Business category! We couldn't be prouder of all of our listeners who helped…
- Is Business Broken?
How is AI Changing Your Relationship With Your Doctor?
AI is already making its way into healthcare, from helping doctors write notes to interpreting medical images and managing growing amounts of patient data. As…
- Is Business Broken?
How is Generative AI Reshaping Hollywood?
Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving into Hollywood, from visual effects and editing to script development and production workflows. In the realms of…
- Is Business Broken?
Would You Trust a Self-Driving Car?
Self-driving cars are logging millions of miles in a growing number of U.S. cities. Waymo now wants to test its newest robotaxis on Boston’s narrow streets…
- Is Business Broken?
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran on Tariffs, Inflation, and Deregulation
In recent years, the Federal Reserve has faced down enormous economic challenges: rising inflation, new trade policies, a pandemic, and a weaker labor market…
- Is Business Broken?
Are Boardrooms Ready for the New Geopolitical Reality?
Today's episode tackles a challenge facing boardrooms right now: the intersection of geopolitics and corporate governance. For decades, companies followed a…
- Is Business Broken?
What Does Antitrust Mean in 2025?
At its core, antitrust is about reining in concentrated power. But in a world where digital platforms shape our choices and markets evolve, the boundaries of…
- Is Business Broken?
Why Should We Care About Corporate Governance?
How might corporate governance shape business decisions, trust, and society at large? In this special student-hosted episode of Is Business Broken?, BU…
- Is Business Broken?
Why Don't Restaurants Steal Recipes?
Today, we're diving into a fascinating corner of self-regulation—one that doesn't rely on formal rules or legal protections, but instead on norms. In…
- Is Business Broken?
When Does Self Regulation Become Collusion?
Last week's show introduced self-regulation, the practice of businesses, setting their own guardrails without government, but what are the limits to private…
- Is Business Broken?
What Happens When Business Regulates Itself?
What happens when business regulates itself, without government? Enter self regulation. Host Curt Nickisch speaks to BU Questrom Professors Andy King and Tim…
- Is Business Broken?
Vote for "Is Business Broken?" in the Signal Awards!
Exciting news! Is Business Broken? has been nominated for a Signal Award in the Business category! We couldn't be more proud of all of our listeners who helped…
- Is Business Broken?
The High Stakes of the AI Economy, Live from the WBUR Festival
AI promises massive gains in productivity and a flourishing of goods and services—but also poses consequences for jobs, corporate power, and society. There…
- Is Business Broken?
The Economic Anxiety of a Global Trade Shift
One of the goals of the Mehrotra Institute is to educate, not just through research or in the classroom, but by creating real-world learning opportunities. So…
- Is Business Broken?
How Should Companies Balance Short-Term Pressures with Long-Term Interests?
How should companies balance short-term pressures with long-term interests? Can they do both—and if so, how? That’s the question we posed at a live event that…
- Is Business Broken?
How to Combat Common Ownership
Last episode introduced the concept of common ownership. That’s where major investors buy significant stakes across competing firms, which can lower…
- Is Business Broken?
What Happens When the Same Investors Own Competing Companies?
When the same big investors buy stakes in multiple competing companies, are those firms still competitors? When they practically have the same owner, do they…
- Is Business Broken?
Why is Healthcare Not Better and Cheaper?
Innovation is what drives progress—but in healthcare, progress can feel frustratingly slow. New treatments, technologies, and approaches have the potential to…
- Is Business Broken?
How Do Employees Feel about Executive Compensation?
As we’ve discussed these last few episodes, there’s a lot that goes into how executives get paid—but what about the people working beneath those executives?…
- Is Business Broken?
Are CEOS Paid Just For Luck?
For our next conversation on executive compensation, we’re exploring some of the big questions researchers are tackling today. Like: How much of CEO pay is…
- Is Business Broken?
How Institutional Investors Influence Executive Pay
Today's episode dives into the voice that shareholders have and how executives are paid, including large institutional shareholders. What does that…
- Is Business Broken?
Why are Executives Paid So Much?
Why and how did CEO paychecks become so massive and divisive? Who decides what leaders are worth? And what’s the ripple effect on companies, workers, and the…
- Is Business Broken?
Regulating Platforms & Speech in an Age of Fake News
How do we reconcile the protection of free speech with the need to prevent harmful misinformation from spreading online? Is it even possible to strike a…
- Is Business Broken?
How Can We Understand Online Misinformation?
From political lies to viral conspiracy theories, misinformation has reshaped our digital landscape—creating confusion, influencing public perception, and…
- Is Business Broken?
Shareholder Primacy vs. Stakeholderism: 5 Years Later (Pt 2)
Last week's episode features the first part of a panel centered around the Business Round Table's pledge five years ago to redefine the purpose of a…
- Is Business Broken?
Shareholder Primacy vs. Stakeholderism: 5 Years Later (Pt 1)
Five years ago, the Business Roundtable made a bold move and redefined the purpose of a corporation. 181 CEOs signed a pledge to create value for all…
- Is Business Broken?
Why Cell and Gene Therapies Cost So Much – And What Can Be Done
Last week's episode introduced the promises and challenges brought forth by Cell and Gene Therapies. Today's show dives deeper into this topic with BU Questrom…
- Is Business Broken?
Life Science Innovation: Who Should Pay?
Sometimes called “living drugs,” Cell and Gene Therapies have the potential to cure an individual of a rare disease by modifying that person’s genes. But due…
- Is Business Broken?
The Future of ESG: Where Do We Go From Here?
The future of ESG, or Environmental Social Governance, depends on how we approach our current moment, according to today's show guests. Host Curt Nickisch…
- Is Business Broken?
What Are Today’s Business Leaders Saying About ESG?
What do the conversations around ESG, or Environmental Social Governance, look like today? How are businesses addressing E, S, and G factors in what they do?…
- Is Business Broken?
Revisiting ESG: How Did We Get Here?
ESG, or Environmental Social Governance, isn't the first time business has attempted addressing public concerns regarding the social impact of business. In…
- Is Business Broken?
Promises and Perils of the ESG Movement
ESG, or Environmental Social Governance, promises to help the bottom line and the planet at the same time. Is it too good to be true? In this episode, Host…
- Is Business Broken?
Is Business Broken?
Host Curt Nickisch and Susan Fournier, Allen Questrom Professor and Dean of Questrom School of Business at Boston University, preview the arc of this podcast…
- Is Business Broken?
Trailer: "Is Business Broken?"
A preview of "Is Business Broken?" - Conversations about the role of business in society, brought to you by the Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute for Business…