Is Business Broken?

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 went into creating it. As we grapple with how AI is changing the way we learn, we’re also forced to reconsider what learning looks like in the first place. If our traditional proxies for knowledge no longer tell us what someone knows, how do we know what people are actually capable of?

At a live show, recorded at WBUR CitySpace for Boston AI Week, host Curt Nickisch sits down to explore these questions with Maria Flynn, President and CEO of Jobs for the Future, Janet Kang, Executive Director of the Just Horizons Alliance, and Chris Dellarocas, the Richard C. Shipley Professor of Information Systems at Boston University.

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American Job Quality Study: National Workforce Survey

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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 companies a workforce they can scale up and down with demand, while shifting more of the risk onto workers, who often lack the benefits and protections of traditional employees. In July, a U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that ride-hailing and delivery platforms were among the largest employers of workers receiving SNAP and Medicaid benefits in 11 states. So is gig work creating a fundamentally new way of working, or simply a new way for companies to organize labor?

In this episode, host Curt Nickisch explores that question and more with Gordon Burtch, professor of information systems at BU Questrom, and David Weil, professor of social policy and management at Brandeis University and former administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor during the Obama administration.

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Federal Social Safety Net Programs: Millions of Workers, Including Many Employed by Large Employers, Continue to Rely on Medicaid and SNAP

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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, companies now have more visibility into the workforce than ever before. These tools are often built with good intentions to help employees grow, collaborate better, and deliver more value. But when workers experience them as surveillance, even the best-designed product can backfire.

How are these technologies actually being used? What are the unintended consequences for trust and morale? What does responsible deployment look like?

In this episode, host Curt Nickisch unpacks these questions and more with Thomas Costa, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security at the U.S. Government Accountability Office; Rhonda Morris, former Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Chevron; Kabrina K. Chang, professor of business law and ethics at BU Questrom; and George Champlin-Scharff, senior business agility and operating model consultant at Scrum Inc.

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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 planet, or is it a substitute for accountability and regulation?

In the last episode of our three-part series inspired by BU Questrom’s Beyond Corporate Sustainability conference, host Curt Nickisch unpacks the myths of market-driven solutions and the critical role of governance with conference co-organizers Naomi Oreskes, professor of the history of science at Harvard University, and Tom Lyon, professor of business, economics, and public policy at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

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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 powerful? How did we come to believe that companies could take on some of society's biggest environmental problems while still turning a profit?

In the second episode of our three-part series inspired by BU Questrom’s Beyond Corporate Sustainability conference, host Curt Nickisch unpacks those questions with conference co-organizers Kenneth Pucker, professor of practice at Tufts University and former chief operating officer at Timberland, and Andy King, professor of strategy and innovation at BU Questrom.

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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 act. But who should take the lead?

Beginning in the 1990s, a new answer emerged: corporations. If businesses were responsible for much of the world’s fossil fuel emissions, perhaps they could also be part of the solution. It seemed like a win-win: good for the planet, good for the business. Three decades later, corporate sustainability has profoundly shaped business education, investment, public policy, and academic research. But what if the idea itself has limitations?

In this three-part series inspired by BU Questrom’s Beyond Corporate Sustainability conference, we take a closer look at the promise and pitfalls of corporate sustainability and ask what it would take to move beyond it. This series is a departure from our usual Is Business Broken? programming: rather than bringing together competing perspectives, we’re taking a deeper look at one particular critique of corporate sustainability.

In this first episode, host Curt Nickisch unpacks the idea of corporate sustainability and more with Auden Schendler, climate activist and author of two books, Terrible Beauty and Getting Green Done; and Andy King, professor of strategy and innovation at BU Questrom and a leading scholar of corporate environmental strategy, voluntary programs, and environmental regulation.

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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 half after Boston University Professor Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone, questions around the innovation economy are more urgent than ever.

At a live show, recorded at the WBUR Festival in Boston, host Curt Nickisch sits down to explore these questions with Dr. Melissa Gilliam, President of Boston University; Kendalle Burlin O'Connell, CEO & President, MassBio, and Elizabeth Jurinka, Operating Director, Healthcare Policy, Vistria PRG.

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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 2050.

Ships are expensive and pay for themselves over decades, and the technology for green fuels is still developing. What are you supposed to do if you're a shipping company? Do you invest early and take on the risk? Do you drag your feet? And why should we be thinking about the shipping industry in the first place?

Host Curt Nickisch unpacks this question and more with Ravi K. Mehrotra and Amulya Mohapatra from the Foresight Group; Chris Wiernicki, independent industry consultant and the former Chair and CEO of the American Bureau of Shipping; Valerie Thomas, professor of industrial engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology; and Justin Ren, Associate Professor of Operations and Technology Management at BU Questrom.

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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. But as private equity's footprint expands, so does the debate over who actually benefits.

Has private equity made the economy more efficient, innovative, and productive — or has it become a system for extracting wealth at the expense of workers, consumers, and communities? Can private equity be a force for good? And if this is where the money is flowing, what rules and safeguards do we actually need?

Host Curt Nickisch unpacks this question and more with Danny Wadhwani, Private Equity investor and Co-founder at ThinkLite; Gretchen Morgenson, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist from NBC News; and Thomas Wollmann, Associate Professor in Markets, Public Policy, & Law at Boston University Questrom School of Business.

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• Painful Bargaining: Evidence from Anesthesia Rollups

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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.

We’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to vote for us:https://wbby.co/57452N.

The voting period ends this Thursday, April 16th. Thank you so much!

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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 a major testing ground for these tools.

As tech giants roll out health-focused chatbots and tools, patients and providers face big questions: Is AI giving doctors back the time and presence that the business of medicine stripped away? Or will it become another lever for consolidation and control in a care system that doesn’t always reward real value?

Host Curt Nickisch unpacks this question and more with cardiologist and author Eric Topol, anesthesiologist and pain physician Sunny Jha, Microsoft Health Futures principal researcher Michael Hansen, and BU Questrom professor Carey Morewedge.

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AI chatbots versus human healthcare professionals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of empathy in patient care

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ChatGPT Health performance in a structured test of triage recommendations

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Protecting Physicians From AI Impostors | Think Global Health

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GenAI and the psychology of work

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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, or is it a substitute that may eventually replace it?
Host Curt Nickisch unpacks this question and more with BU Questrom professor Carey Morewedge, Roma Murphy, animation writer and co-chair of the AI committee at the Animation Guild, Tim Herrold, a visual effects artist and editor, and Erik Barmack, CEO of Wild Sheep Content.

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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 makes people trust or reject a technology that asks them to give up control? And what kind of future are we really driving toward?

Host Curt Nickisch unpacks these questions and more with BU Questrom professor Carey Morewedge, entrepreneur Basak Ozer, AAA Northeast spokesperson Mark Schieldrop, and App Drivers’ Union leader Mike Vartabedian.

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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 inflation in a modern economy? And how has bank regulation reshaped the Fed’s balance sheet and the role it plays?

At a recent live event, Host Curt Nickisch sits down with Stephen Miran, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Previously, Governor Miran chaired the Council of Economic Advisers, where he helped develop much of President Trump’s trade policy.

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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 rewritten by trade wars, sanctions, and supply chain disruptions.
So how do boards navigate a landscape where geopolitical risk is the new normal, and where every decision reverberates across shifting borders, markets, and social expectations?
At a recent live event, Host Curt Nickisch sits down with: Ruth Aguilera, Brodsky Trustee Professor in Corporate Governance at Northeastern University; Kevin McGovern, President of the New England chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors; and Roy Shapira, Professor of Law at Reichman University and visiting fellow at the Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute for Business Markets and Society.

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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 keeps markets open and innovative? And how are new technologies testing the limits of rules written for another era?
Today's guests are BU Questrom Professors Dionne Lomax and Cathy Fazio.

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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.

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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, don’t steal—even when you legally can.
What does it take to sustain trust and collaboration when regulation isn’t there to keep everyone in line?
To discuss, host Curt Nickisch invites to the show Giada Di Stefano, a professor of strategy at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy; and Andy King, Allen and Kelli Questrom Professor in Strategy & Innovation at BU Questrom.

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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 interest, and also companies getting together to set their own rules? When does that cross into antitrust territory and become collusion? Host Curt Nickisch speaks to BU Questrom Professor Tim Simcoe and Jonathan Kanter, former Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division in the Biden Administration.

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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 society.

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