Howie and Harlan are joined by Joshua Sharfstein, a longtime public health official in federal, state, and local government, to discuss the state of the opioid epidemic, lessons from the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and our readiness for a bird flu outbreak. Harlan reports on the summer surge in COVID-19; Howie remembers his mentor Gail Wilensky, a health economist who directed Medicaid and Medicare programs and led many other organizations over…
As climate change intensifies, homeowners are increasingly looking to retrofit their homes to make them more resilient and energy efficient, with projects such as hurricane-proof windows and doors, or solar panels on roofs. But not everyone can afford these important upgrades that would help them ready their homes against extreme weather and give them some buffer against rising home insurance premiums. A small but growing program known as PACE (Property…
Two weeks ago, we wrote that business leaders are not flocking to GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, with no Fortune 100 CEOs having donated financially to Trump this year—a pattern broken only now by Elon Musk’s pronouncement Monday. While we commendably saw a surge of statements of sympathy from business leaders in the hours following the despicable, horrendous assassination attempt on Trump this weekend, Trump’s selection of freshman Ohio Senator…
Fixed prices for goods and services is a relatively recent invention. In the 19th century, Quaker merchants argued that haggling was morally wrong—it was unfair for two customers buying the same good to walk away having paid different amounts. John Wanamaker, a Quaker and the founder of Philadelphia’s Wanamaker’s department store, took it one step further, inventing the price tag by writing a price on a rectangle of cardboard and…
Since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09, the Federal Reserve has conducted stress tests of the largest banks to evaluate their capital and promote sound risk management, under a mandate Congress created in the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. On June 26, a subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to consider a proposal to put the details of the Fed’s stress scenarios and models out for public…
Etelle Higonnet (Yale College Class of 2000) is a human rights lawyer and environmental activist. She can be found doing investigations on deforestation and child labor in the jungles and forests of Africa and South America, often risking losing her life, as nearly happened on a mission in an African country where she was working to stop a rubber company from illegally cutting down trees. As Etelle was about to…
Can a mindfulness practice help us at work? In a season focusing on how we learn through experience, I wanted to make sure that we heard about some of the social science that supports the practices. My guest on this episode has lived a fascinating life and has so much wisdom to share on this topic. Lindsey Cameron is an assistant professor of management at the Wharton School, University of…
It’s a clichéd staple of commencement speeches and family dinners: “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” This advice is particularly resonant in a culturally individualistic country such as the U.S., where the idea of “following your passion” guides many young people as they choose their educational path and subsequent career. But new research suggests that this advice could have different consequences for women…
Several top Democrats have reportedly issued strong warnings to Joe Biden to challenge Trump’s friendly ties to corporate America when the two face off on Thursday’s presidential debate, and less time talking up his legislative accomplishments. The news reflects continued pressure on Biden to lean more into populist, anti-corporate appeals. But that would be a huge mistake. Wealthy political advisors keep trying to tell Biden how to speak to the…
Q: When we talked two years ago, you described an industry in search of a profitable business model. You warned that companies would be in for a tough stretch. Where do things stand now? It’s been a very difficult two years for the entertainment sector— worse than we could have imagined—and streaming is a big part of why. People have continued dropping pay TV, which was a very profitable business,…
In the United States each year, resettlement agencies assist tens of thousands of refugees in finding new homes and employment; in fiscal year 2023, more than 60,000 people received resettlement services in this country. The task is monumental—and essential, as the number of displaced people around the world continues to grow. When Yale SOM’sVahideh Manshadi learned that one of the largest such agencies was searching for a better way to…
How can we change and transform the education system through leadership? The Broad Center at the Yale School of Management fosters the ideas, policies, and leadership to help all students in K-12 public schools — particularly those from underserved communities — to learn and thrive. Broad is a stellar example of the unique mission of Yale SOM: educating leaders for business and society. Since I feel connected and inspired by…
At a recent Yale CEO Summit we convened online to mark the 50th anniversary of the invention of the internet in 1974, top Fortune 500 CEOs revealed how they are reinventing their businesses around artificial intelligence (AI), clean energy, and other emerging technologies. The most tangible, impactful implementations of AI are often taking place in traditional business sectors. As one of our speakers, Steve Case, the CEO of Revolution Growth,…
Howie and Harlan are joined by Anna Reisman, a physician and writer who leads Yale’s Program for Humanities in Medicine. They discuss the gaps in care she encountered when her developmentally disabled sister was diagnosed with cancer, and her work reviewing the “dude wall” of portraits at Yale Medical School. Harlan asks what we’ve gained from a new definition of long COVID; Howie provides an update on the spread of…
Steve Jobs once said, “Intuition is more powerful than intellect.” But can it be too powerful? In research recently published in the journal Cognition, Yale SOM’s Shane Frederick and Andrew Meyer of the Chinese University of Hong Kong not only show situations in which widely shared intuitions are certifiably wrong, they also illustrate how these erroneous intuitions become calcified and prevent discovery of the truth, even among those who are…
When Yale SOM’s Jason Dana asks people to think about a consumer good that has gotten more affordable over time—say, televisions—they are confident they understand why: the underlying technology has improved and production is more efficient, so the product has come down in cost. But when he asks them whether in general real costs—defined as the amount of work required to purchase individual items—have gone up or down over time,…
Mitesh Rao, co-founder and CEO of OMNY Health, joins Howie and Harlan to discuss his entrepreneurial journey and how his company is creating a common layer of data connecting healthcare providers and researchers. Harlan reports on a study showing how many lives could be saved by improving quality of care; Howie reflects on the health consequences that have accompanied the legalization of cannabis. Links: Quality and Lives Saved “The business…
Sensationalist narratives trumpeting how business leaders are supposedly eager to welcome Donald Trump back to the White House and pining for the days of his business-friendly tax cuts are missing an important dimension: the escalating, overt hostility of populist MAGA voices to business. This hostility starts from the top with Trump himself. While many business leaders regard certain aspects of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda, such as Federal Trade Commision…
Corporate America has never been known for its gender diversity; in 2015, fewer women ran large U.S. companies than men named John. While the numbers are slowly improving at senior levels—women CEOs finally outnumbered Johns as of 2023—many of the country’s biggest firms have a workforce that is significantly less gender diverse than the overall population. New research suggests that these companies are leaving serious money on the table. A…
Like a lot of people, Balázs Kovács has come to rely on Yelp reviews when it comes to choosing a new restaurant. “I don’t look at the numbers,” he says. “I read to connect with the experience. It’s more personable if someone writes about their experience. If they complain about having to wait 45 minutes for soup, I know what that means.” A professor of organizational behavior at Yale SOM…
Howie and Harlan are joined by Chima Ndumele of the Yale School of Public Health to discuss his research on structural changes to Medicaid that could keep vulnerable populations healthier. Harlan reports on the remarkable abilities of Google's latest medicine-focused AI; Howie reflects on a study showing the impact of race-neutral measures of lung function. Links: AI and Medicine “Capabilities of Gemini Models in Medicine” Medicaid Medicaid.gov “10 Things to…
This commentary originally appeared in Time. Recent battlefield reverses in Ukraine, with Kherson under increasing attack, are powerful reminders that Ukraine needs every penny of support it can get urgently. Yet Western governments still refuse to seize Russia’s $300 billion in frozen assets, even though the idea of making Russia pay for Ukraine’s rebuilding is broadly popular across the U.S.—with even House Speaker Mike Johnson embracing it as “pure poetry.”…
In 2009, Andrew Metrick and Gary Gensler were both serving in the Obama Administration on the front lines of the response to the Global Financial Crisis. In fact, they worked together to address hidden risks in the “repo” market that played a major role in the market crashes of that era. Fifteen years later when Gensler, now the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, visited Yale SOM to…
This season we've been taking on HOW to learn through experience which fundamentally challenges the brain-bound assumption that learning starts and stays in the brain. We aren't so great at honoring the wisdom, expertise, and leadership that emerges from lived experience, but our own life may guide us – especially if we tap into learning practices, like reflection and challenging our perspective. My guest on this episode is a shining…
Q: Are national security issues showing up in space? National security issues have shown up in space since the Cold War. Militaries around the world are enabled by space. They’re applying space technology for communications, for positioning—when you drop a bomb, you want to be able to precisely hit a target—and for situational awareness. Intelligence gathering or reconnaissance from space is very important for understanding the world they’re operating in.…
Should corporations invest in green production methods, offer employees generous health benefits, or allow employees time during the work week to volunteer? Whether and how for-profit companies should invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and other forms of socially motivated spending is hotly debated. Some argue that companies have a responsibility to their broader society. Others insist that the sole focus of the corporation should be shareholder value. Kelly Shue,…
Howie and Harlan discuss health and healthcare headlines. From flatlining telehealth to Walmart closing retail clinics to months-long waits for healthcare appointments, they try to untangle the challenges in delivering healthcare. Also considered, H5N1 bird flu increasing the risks of drinking unpasteurized milk, promising research on open-source moderation of misinformation on social media. Links: Yale Repertory Theater | The Far Country CDC | H5N1 “US bird flu outbreak spreads to…
This commentary originally appeared in Chief Executive. From the 1960s through the 1970s, AT&T advertised its long-distance service as “the next best thing to being there,” suggesting phone calls were a good substitute for seeing family members in person—but that might not work for the boss. Virtual meetings that save travel costs and provide visibility for CEOs of vast enterprises who can’t be everywhere at once are necessary but no…
Howie and Harlan are joined by Arthur Caplan, Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics and founding head of the division of medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, to discuss the ethical failings of the pharmaceutical industry and how a community-focused ethos prioritizing justice and protection of the vulnerable would have reshaped the COVID response. Harlan reports on developments in synthetic proteins. Howie recognizes World…
This commentary originally appeared in Newsweek. This weekend’s political leadership case study felt like a Frank Capra film script of a chapter from John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage, as House Speaker Mike Johnson reversed course and stared down threats from extremists in his party, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, and Paul Gosar, in passing $95 billion in military support for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. It’s not often…
When you’re making decisions, should you listen to your gut or only lean on reason? Research suggests we should do both. Lynn Tilton lost her father as a teenager and experienced firsthand what the loss of the main income provider can do to a family. She got herself into Yale on a tennis grant, married while at Yale, became pregnant shortly after graduation, and soon became a single mom. It…
Q: There’s tremendous attention on inflation these days. But the Federal Reserve and other central banks have been dealing with extraordinary circumstances for more than four years. Would you walk us through the challenges, the responses, and what we have learned, starting with the shutdown from the COVID pandemic? While “unprecedented” is a term that can be overused, when the pandemic hit in 2020, it was an unprecedented shock. It…
Teresa Chahine: Welcome back, everyone. I’m here with Peter Hagan, the Digital Health Director of Commonwealth Care Alliance, and he’s here to talk to us about his former role in Iora Health, which was one of the startups that really pioneered the value-based care model in public health. Thank you so much, Pete, for being here with us today. Peter Hagan: Thank you for having me. Teresa Chahine: You’re able…
“If you care about climate change, you have to care about buildings,” said Jessica Bailey, CEO of Nuveen Green Capital. Her work scaling a financing mechanism called C-PACE (Commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy) has helped building owners fund over $7 billion in clean energy and efficiency projects. Yet, she added, “I think of what we do as stealth sustainability.” Since most developers are focused on the bottom line, “we had to…
Howie and Harlan are joined by Scott Berkowitz ’03, cardiologist and chief population health officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine, to discuss the necessity of moving from fee-for-service to value-based care delivery to improve outcomes for all. Harlan highlights the dangers of misinformation about Ivermectin. Howie reports on the potential conflicts of interest created by device manufacturers’ payments to cardiologists. Links: Johns Hopkins Medicine: Home Johns Hopkins Community Health Partnership “Association…
Since this season of the podcast is all about the HOW of learning through experience, I wanted to talk to Annie Murphy Paul who basically wrote the book on learning outside the brain. She’s the author of several books, and I love to talk with people after they have had a chance to learn through the experience of their book being out in the world. In this episode, we focus…
Q: Nanoracks was founded in 2009. What was it like to launch a space startup at that point? There were very few space startups and credibility was low. Nanoracks was one of the first, if not the first company, knocking on the door at NASA saying, “Hey, if you give us some room on the International Space Station (ISS), we'll figure out how to use it.” A lot of people…
(This opinion essay was originally published on Newsweek on March 29, 2024.) We represent a group of 25 Yale faculty who have just returned from a five-day visit to Israel. Our mission was to learn from and make meaningful academic connections with our Israeli counterparts. Much of what we learned and observed astounded us. The environment is challenging, yet the Israeli academic enterprise has proven breathtakingly resilient. Imagine operating a…
Howie and Harlan are joined by Atheendar Venkataramani, a physician, health economist, and director of the Perelman School of Medicine’s Opportunity for Health Lab, to discuss the powerful role of economic opportunity in population health outcomes. Harlan reports on two studies where treatments’ unexpected benefits leapt ahead of understanding why they work. Howie reflects on the business model of the pharma industry and the market reaction to anti-obesity drugs. Links:…
Q: What is the scale of the mental health need in the U.S.? It’s estimated that more than one in five adults live with a mental illness. And if you add addiction—substance use disorder—that number gets much larger. It’s also pretty alarming that 55% of adults with mental illness go untreated. That’s devastating for those individuals and their families and friends. There are impacts on productivity, employment, even lifespan, and…