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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.
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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 does the work for us, it can separate the finished product from the thinking that we
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 to work. But that flexibility sometimes comes with a cost. Gig platforms give com
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 dashboards to internal chatbots that log every question an employee asks, compan
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 conservation march hand in hand. But is corporate sustainability truly about saving the p
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 picture, how did the idea of corporate sustainability become so ubiquitous and powerfu
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 rapid, intensifying global warming. The science was clear, and there was momentum to a
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 market stalls, and political uncertainty rattles an entire industry? A century and a
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 ambitious targets to reduce those by 20% by 2030, by 70% by 2040, and reach net zero by 2
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 push to let everyday investors put their retirement savings into private markets. B
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 make this possible. And with this nomination, we're up for a People's Voice award. W
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 one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S., healthcare is quickly becoming
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 creative industries, the question looms large: Is AI a complement to human creativity
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, rotaries, and snowy roads. But are drivers ready to hand over the wheel to AI? What
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. So how much are tariffs really driving price increases? How should we measure inf
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 playbook built on global integration and efficiency. But now that playbook is being
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 competition and fairness seem to be shifting. Who truly gets to compete? What keep
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 Questrom Undergrad Grant Corbett speaks with BU Questrom Visiting Professor Roy Shapira.
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 industries like fashion and fine dining, there are powerful unspoken rules: don’t copy, do
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 actors policing themselves? At what point should government intervene in the public
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 Simcoe about when self regulation works, when it doesn't, and what's at stake for
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 make this possible. And with this nomination, we're up for a Listener's Choice a
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 will be winners and losers. Today, we're asking: How do we strike the balance betwee
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, for this episode, we're handing the mic to student host Grant Corbett, who chats
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 BU Questrom held in April. Host Curt Nickisch spoke to Stuart Hart, Professor in
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 competition, raise prices, and affect innovation. But what could be done about that? Is the
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 set their prices differently? Do they lose their drive to innovate? This is not a
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 save lives and reduce costs, yet systemic barriers often stand in the way. Are fi
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? How do employees feel about executive compensation, and how can companies balance r
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 driven by luck? Have these pay packages gotten too complex? And are CEOs being fairl
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 relationship look like between investors and companies, and how does this affect CEO pay? Ho
